KINGSTON, Ont. (October 19, 2014) - The Gaels finished Homecoming Weekend as champions of the Queen's Invitational with a perfect 3-0 record. Montreal ended up in second at 2-1, while Toronto placed third at 1-2. Memorial ended 0-3 at the tournament. The Gaels men's volleyball team welcomed Memorial, Montreal, and Toronto to the Queen's Invitational from October 17-19, with all games taking place in the Athletics & Recreation Centre.



Tournament MVP
Mike Tomlinson (Stratford, Ont.) - In only eight sets played, Tomlinson displayed his attacking prowess with 25 kills for the Gaels. The outside hitter also has a killer spin serve, picking out 10 aces over the course of the tournament to earn the MVP.

Tournament All-Stars
Scott Brunet (Calgary) - One of Queen's starting middles, Brunet contributed 16 kills to the Gaels three victories at the tournament. The fourth year veteran also made nine assisted blocks and one solo block for Queen's.
Markus Trence (Orangeville, Ont.) - With 26 kills for the tournament champions, Trence provided consistent offence for the Gaels. The outside hitter's balanced play also included 13 digs, two assisted blocks, and one solo block.
Michael Denton - The Toronto Varsity Blues starting setter was named as an All-Star at the Queen's Invitational for his 80 assists in three matches. Denton contributed 25 digs to Toronto's defensive effort.
Mathieu Poirier - The starting setter for the Montreal Carabins earned a spot on the tournament all-star team with 93 assists over the course of the tournament. Poirier also made eight digs, eight assisted blocks, and recorded four service aces.
Godefroy Veyron-Trudel - An outside hitter for the Montreal Carabins, Veyron-Trudel had 30 kills in just two matches at the Queen's Invitational. The second year also recorded 13 digs, six assisted blocks, and two service aces.

Day 3
Montreal vs Memorial - BOXSCORE
The Montreal Carabins closed out the Queen's Invitational with a 2-1 record, as they beat the 0-3 Memorial Sea-Hawks in straight sets on Sunday morning, 26-24, 25-16, 25-12.

After the Carabins overcame a strong effort from Memorial in the first set, Montreal rolled to a quick three set win. Philipe Carrier had a team-high seven kills for the Carabins, while Liam Power had a game-high nine kills for the Sea-Hawks.

Memorial libero Brad Jolliffe earned a player of the match award with five digs. Mathieu Poirier, the Montreal setter, was also named as a player of the match for his 26 assists and three service aces.

Montreal heads home at with a 2-1 record, as they beat Toronto and Memorial, but fell to Queen's. Memorial closes the tournament with three losses.

Queen's vs Toronto - BOXSCORE
The Queen's Gaels went undefeated at the Queen's Invitational, winning the tournament after beating the Toronto Varsity Blues in straight sets, 25-21, 25-13, 25-17. Toronto finished the tournament 1-2 after Sunday's game.

Toronto fought hard to keep the first set close, before Queen's opened up a four point lead after being tied at 19-19. The Gaels held that lead to end the first set, taking it 25-21.

In the second set, the Gaels pulled ahead 5-1 and extended the lead to 13-3 with help from Mike Tomlinson's (Stratford, Ont) masterful serves, as he finished the match with six service aces. Queen's dominated the second set to close it off at 25-13, with the last two kills going to Ben Harper (Ottawa, Ont).

In the final set, the Gaels opened up another early lead and held it comfortably to end the last set, 25-17.

Aidan Roos (West Elgin, Ont) put on a blocking clinic for Queen's, with three impressive solo blocks to go with seven assisted blocks. Markus Trence (Orangeville, Ont) contributed 10 kills to the tricolour victory.

The player of the match for the Gaels was Tomlinson, who ended up with a game-high 20.5 points due in part to his 11 kills. Toronto's player of the match was Trevor Grant.

After the game, Queen's outside hitter Tomlinson was named the Tournament MVP for his consistently dominant play. Scott Brunet (Calgary) and Trence were named Tournament All-Stars for the Gaels, while Michael Denton picked up an All-Star award for the Varsity Blues. 

Queen's opens their regular season on Friday at 8pm when they host Windsor at the ARC.

Day 2
Memorial vs Toronto - BOXSCORE
The Memorial Sea-Hawks took the Toronto Varsity Blues to five sets in Saturday afternoon's match at the Queen's Invitational, with Toronto winning 25-11, 17-25, 25-11, 25-27, 15-8.

Toronto spread their stats on offence and defence, but Jake Dysselhof stood out among his teammates, with 10 kills, two service aces, and a solo block to go with five assisted blocks.

Sam Burt had a game-high 16 kills for Memorial, while Brad Jolliffe made a game-high 20 digs. Cody Harvey put up three solo blocks and three assisted blocks.

Memorial squares off with Montreal on Sunday at 11am, before Toronto plays the hosts at 3:30pm at the ARC.

Queen's vs Montreal - BOXSCORE
After Montreal started strong to take the first set, the Gaels won three straight to earn a 3-1 win on Saturday night at the ARC, 19-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-22.

As the match drew to a close, Mike Tomlinson (Stratford, Ont.) made his presence felt, capping off a rally full of tremendous digs with a huge block to give the Gaels their first match point. Tomlinson also ended the match with a kill on a set from Joraver Sangha (Brampton, Ont.). With 13 total kills, Tomlinson and Philippe Goyer (Ottawa) tied for Queen's team-high.

Queen's Libero Ivo Dramov (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) was the Gaels player of the match, making a game-high 15 digs, including some for the highlight-reel. Godefroy Veyron-Trudel was named as the player of the match for the Carabins, finishing with a game-high 14 kills.

The Gaels close out the Queen's Invitational on Sunday at 3:30pm against Toronto, as they try to end Homecoming Weekend a perfect 3-0. Montreal will look to improve to 2-1 in their game against Memorial at 11am.

Day 1
Toronto vs Montreal - BOXSCORE
The Montreal Carabins swept the Toronto Varsity Blues to take a three set victory in the first game of the Queen's Invitational, 25-23, 25-15, 25-18.

Godefroy Veyron-Trudel led the Carabins in their decisive win, slamming a game-high 16 kills to the floor. Montreal's Charlie Loignon added 12 kills to the Carabins winning score. Defensively, Jonathan Landry registered a game-high 15 digs for Montreal. Carabins middle Samuel Landry made a game-high six assisted blocks to go with one solo block.

On Toronto's side of the net, Thomas Meier led all Varsity Blues attackers with eight kills. Alex Park had the most digs for Toronto, stopping 13 balls from hitting the floor.

Toronto plays Memorial on Saturday at 3pm, while Montreal battles the host Gaels at 8pm.

Queen's vs Memorial - BOXSCORE
The Gaels made quick work of the Memorial Sea-Hawks, collecting the 3-0 win Friday night in front of a Homecoming crowd at the ARC 25-13, 25-19, 25-16.

A 5-0 run in the opening set, with Scott Brunet (Calgary) back to serve for Queen's, set the pace for the match. With each set handily going to the Gaels, 11 different players saw action for the tricolour and contributed to the win.

On offence, Queen's was extremely disciplined, committing only seven attacking errors in the match compared to Memorial's 23. The Gaels also dominated in the blocking department, putting up 7.0 total blocks to the Sea-Hawks zero.

With a well-rounded night comprised of a game-high three service aces, four kills, and three digs, Ben Harper (Ottawa) earned the player of the match for Queen's. Memorial's Cody Harvey was also named player of the match for his game-high nine kills.

The Gaels resume action at the Queen's Invitation on Saturday with an 8pm matchup against Montreal at the ARC, while Memorial plays Toronto at 3pm.