KINGSTON, Ont. (February 22, 2010) – Playoff action for the Queen's Gaels men's basketball, women's hockey and men's volleyball heats up at home this week (Feb 24-26) while women's volleyball and track and field will travel to OUA championship events over the weekend (Feb 26-27).

Tickets for all home games are available by calling 613.533.2500. Prices vary between $5.00 and $12.00 for all playoff games. Visit www.gogaelsgo.com.

Basketball (M) vs. Ryerson - OUA East Quarter-Final
Feb. 24, 8:00pm @ Main Gym - ARC
Queen's (11-11) comes into the game as the fourth seed in the East Division with 22 points while Ryerson (10-12) is the fifth seed with 20 points. The two teams split their season series with Queen's earning a 71-65 over Ryerson on Jan. 9, in the final game of the Bartlett Gymnasium. On Feb. 5, Ryerson defeated Queen's in Toronto. Ryerson is led by Boris Bakovic (Toronto) who is averaging 26.2 ponts per game and leads nation in points scored with 576. Queen's will counter with Mitch Leger (Kingston, Ont.) who is the country's top rebounder and sits third in scoring. Leger also tallied 44 points in his last two meetings against Ryerson.

Hockey (W) vs. Guelph – OUA Semifinal
Game 1: Feb 25, 7:30pm @ Memorial Centre
Game 2: Feb 27, 2:00pm @ Guelph
Game 3: Feb 28, 2:30pm @ Memorial Centre (if necessary)
After a bye in the opening round of the OUA playoffs, second place Queen's (19-8-3) will meet fourth place Guelph (14-13-3) in an OUA Semifinal three-game series. The Gaels are 10-4 on home ice this season including a 6-4 win on Oct. 16 over the Gryphons. Guelph bettered Queen's, 4-0 in their last meeting on Jan. 24. The two teams stack up well against each other with Queen's having the second best offence in the province while Guelph ranks third. The Gaels are led by the scoring trio of Elizabeth Kench (Gananoque, Ont.), Becky Conroy (Pembroke, Ont.) and Kelsey Thomson (Martintown, Ont.). Kench and Conroy finished 1-2 in the OUA scoring race, while Thompson was fourth. Dayna Kanis (Georgetown, Ont.) was Guelph's top scorer with 27 points. The Gryphons open the series fresh off a 1-0 OUA Quarter-final win over fifth seeded Toronto on Feb. 20.

Volleyball (M) vs. Toronto – OUA Quarter-final
Feb. 26, 7:00pm @ Main Gym - ARC
The quest for men's volleyball's third OUA title in five seasons starts Friday against the Toronto Varsity Blues. Queen's (16-4) enters the OUA quarter-final as the second top seed while Toronto (10-10) holds the seventh seed. Defending champion McMaster (17-3) holds a bye in the first round. The Gaels swept the season series against Toronto with a 3-0 sweep on Nov. 20 at home and then a 3-2 win in Toronto on Valentine's Day. Queen's also enters the playoffs on a roll having won its last six games and are 8-2 in their last ten. Joren Zeeman (Cambridge, Ont.) is having another All-Canadian caliber season sitting in the top-two of the OUA in the following offensive categories: kills; kills per game; aces per game; points and points per game. Toronto's top player is Steven Kung (Toronto) who counter's Zeeman in the same offensive categories.

Volleyball (W) @ OUA Final Four – hosted by McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
Feb 26, 6:00pm vs. McMaster
Feb 27, 4:00pm or 6:00pm OUA Bronze or Gold Medal vs. TBA
The Gaels (14-6) knocked off the York Lions, who were the defending OUA women's volleyball champions, 3-1 on Saturday to qualify for the OUA Final Four hosted by McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. Also qualifying for this weekend's Final Four were Western (15-5), Toronto (15-5) and host McMaster (17-3). This will be the Queen's first appearance in an OUA women's volleyball semifinal match since 2004 where they won a bronze medal. Queen's has higher hopes then a bronze medal and are aiming for their first ever championship banner in women's volleyball. Their first step comes against the McMaster Marauders on Friday evening. McMaster won 3-1 on Nov. 6 in the team's only meeting this season. Since that meeting, the Gaels have strung together a 12-3 record including a four-game winning streak bringing them into the semifinal game. Queen's will look to OUA All-Stars - Colleen Ogilvie (Calgary), Natalie Grey (Oshawa, Ont.) and Katie Matthews (Aurora, Ont.) to lift the Gaels to the final. McMaster will counter with top players Larissa Puhach (Burlington, Ont.) and Meagan Nedervenn (Dundas, Ont.).

Broadcast note – the entire OUA Women's Volleyball Final Four will be webcast on SSN (www.ssncanada.ca)

Track & Field (M/W) @ OUA Championship
Feb. 26-27 @ University of Toronto
The Gaels head to Toronto this weekend aiming for a strong provincial championship which should set the stage for and even better CIS Championship in Windsor, Ont. from March 11-13. Matt Hulse (Kingston, Ont.) comes into the event looking to regain his OUA title in the men's 1,500m event which he won in 2008. Last year, Hulse was on exchange and did not compete in the 2009 championship. Last weekend, Hulse qualified for the CIS Championship in the men's 1,000m at the McGill Open. Also, Queen's 4x400 team of Adrian Heller (Toronto), Tyler Nigtengale (Kingston), Gord Frenke (Oakville) and Michael Nishiyama (Edmonton, Alta.) are hungry to better their silver medal performance from last season in the event. Other medal hopefuls include the men's 4x800 made up of Hulse, Nishiyama, Joshua Potvin (Thunder Bay) and Clay Patterson (Elgin, Ont.) as well as the women's 4x200m relay team made up of Veronica Catry (Kingston), Jan Stirling (Wolfville, N.S.), Paulina Beretta (Toronto), Marissa Walter (Kentville, N.S.) or Jenn Barrow (Brampton, Ont.).

Queen's Gaels Playoff Schedule (Feb 24-28)

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Basketball (M) vs. Ryerson, 8:00pm – OUA Quarter-final

Thursday, February 25th, 2010
Hockey (W) vs. Guelph, 7:30pm @ Kingston Memorial Centre – OUA Semifinal (Game 1)

Friday, February 26, 2010
Volleyball (W) @ McMaster, 6:00pm @ Burridge Gym, Hamilton, Ont. – OUA Semifinal
Volleyball (M) vs. Toronto, 7:00pm @ Main Gym (ARC) – OUA quarter-final
Track & Field @ University of Toronto - OUA Championship

Saturday, February 27, 2010
Hockey (W) @ Guelph, 2:00pm @ Guelph, Ont. – OUA Semifinal (Game 2)
Volleyball (W) vs. TBD, 4:00pm @ Burridge Gym, Hamilton, Ont. – OUA Bronze Medal
Volleyball (W) vs. TBD, 6:00pm @ Burridge Gym Hamilton, Ont. – OUA Gold Medal
Track & Field @ University of Toronto - OUA Championship

Sunday, February 28, 2010
Hockey (W) vs. Guelph, 2:30pm @ Kingston Memorial Centre – OUA Semifinal (Game 3 – if necessary)