Gaels fall in five-set thriller

Gaels fall in five-set thriller

By Communications Staff

March 7, 2016

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[Gaels Men's Volleyball]
Libero Ivo Dramov of the Queen's Gaels digs the ball during the men's volleyball team's OUA bronze medal match against the Waterloo Warriors. (Photo by Alistair Boullby)

Men’s Volleyball

The Queen's Gaels men’s volleyball team saw their season come to a close after losing out in a five-set thriller to the Waterloo Warriors in the OUA Bronze medal match Friday evening at McMaster in Hamilton.

The opening set established a trend for the rest of match as the Gaels and Warriors went back and forth trading points throughout. Up 24-22, the Gaels had a pair of set points but Waterloo was able to extend the set, tying things at 24-24. Fifth-year veteran Marko Dakic went to work from there as he put down a pair of kills to give the Gaels a 1-0 lead taking the set 26-24. After losing the second set 25-17, the Gaels struck back for a 25-16 win to take a 2-1 sets advantage.

Facing elimination, Waterloo controlled the pace in the fourth set and took it 25-19 to force a deciding set.

In the fifth, down 10-9, Dakic picked up back-to-back kills putting Queen's ahead 11-10. The Warriors then recorded four straight points to make it 14-11. Mike Tomlinson picked up a kill to get the Gaels within two but the Warriors were able to close the deal for the five-set victory.

Women’s Basketball

The Queen’s Gaels women's basketball team’s 2015-16 season came to an end on Saturday after a 65-55 loss to the CIS No. 8-ranked McMaster Marauders in the OUA quarterfinals. 

Robyn Pearson led the Gaels with 16 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks. Fifth-year senior Jenny Wright also had a double-double in the final post-secondary match of her career, picking up 14 points, 12 rebounds and three steals for Queen's, who struggled offensively throughout the match. The team shot just under 30 per cent from the field, hit just one three-pointer throughout the game, and were 10-of-17 from the foul line.

The Gaels finished the regular season with a 14-5 record, good enough for second in the OUA East, and were seeded fifth in the conference. They defeated the Laurentian Voyageurs in the opening round on Wednesday at the Athletics and Recreation Centre by a score of 70-44.

Men’s Basketball

The Queen's Gaels men's basketball pushed the CIS No. 2-ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees to the limit Saturday in Ottawa but came up just short, losing 73-72 in their OUA quarterfinals matchup.

After trailing the Gee-Gees for the first three and a half quarters, the Gaels strung together a comeback and twice took the lead late in the fourth quarter. However, they were unable to find the winner after Ottawa moved in front with just over a second remaining.

Sukhpreet Singh scored a team-high 18 points while Tanner Graham added 15 points and eight rebounds and Mike Shoveller finished with 11 points and a team-best 15 rebounds for a double-double.

Ottawa’s Mike L'Africain had a game-high 27 points including the game-winning basket with 1.2 seconds remaining. 

The Gaels finished with an 11-8 regular season record, while picking up their first post-season victory at home in six years.