KINGSTON, Ont. (October 17, 2014) - Queen's finished Homecoming Weekend with a 1-2 record against the Sherbooke Vert et Or, who won the tie-breaker on Sunday to go 2-1. The Gaels women's volleyball team welcomed Sherbrooke for three games from October 17-19, with all games taking place at the Athletics & Recreation Centre.

MVP - Roxane Hasseni of the Sherbrooke Vert et Or was named as the MVP of the weekend. With 63 kills in three games, Hasseni took the ARC by storm. Hasseni also contributed 52 digs and 10 service aces to lead Sherbrooke to their 2-1 record against Queen's this weekend.

Day 3
Queen's vs Sherbrooke - BOXSCORE
After winning a tight first set, the Gaels fell 3-1 to Sherbrooke, 24-26, 25-18, 25-15, 25-23 on Sunday at the ARC. The Gaels finished Homecoming Weekend 1-2, while Sherbrooke went 2-1.

Early in the first set, neither team could gain more than a two point lead. Sherbrooke pulled ahead as Roxane Hasseni had several kills to help the Vert-et-Or extend the lead to 9-12. The Gaels had a quick comeback after the technical time out, putting together a four point run to get ahead 21-17 on some strong serves from Shannon Neville (Cambridge, Ont.). Queen's won on their fifth set point with a block by Neville, taking it 26-24.

Although the Gaels gained a three point lead on a 6-0 run early in the second set, Sherbrooke pulled within one point at the technical timeout. More explosive play from the Vert et Or gave them a 25-18 win. Sherbrooke displayed similar offensive power in the latter parts of the third set, winning 25-15 after being tied at nines. After trailing in the fourth set, Queen's attempted to force a fifth set with three quick points, but Hasseni ended the match with her 24th kill of the day.

Niki Slikboer (Seagrave, Ont.) earned the player of the match for the Gaels, with six kills off some impressive spikes as well as a pair of clutch assisted blocks. Katie Hagarty (Aurora, Ont) and Brett Hagarty (Aurora, Ont) led Queen's offensively with 11 and 10 kills respectively. Becky Wilson (Pickering, Ont.) had a strong 25 digs as the libero.

For the Vert-et-Or, Hasseni was the player of the match and the tournament MVP. Hasseni had a 28.0 point game in Sunday's victory over Queen's.

The Gaels open the regular season on Friday at 6pm when they host Windsor at the ARC.

Day 2
Queen's vs Sherbrooke - BOXSCORE
The Sherbrooke Vert et Or won the rematch from day one 3-0 against the Gaels on Saturday evening at the ARC, 25-18, 25-19, 25-20.

The Gaels got better in every set, but couldn't pull off a win on day two of competition against Sherbrooke. Strong serving from Katie Hagarty (Aurora, Ont.) gave Queen's their best chance to win a set, but Sherbrooke's energy on defence kept the ball off the floor. Brett Hagarty (Aurora, Ont.) ended up with a team-high 13 kills for the Gaels and 14 digs.

In a defensive matchup, Queen's libero Becky Wilson earned the player of the game with 14 digs. Sherbrooke's libero, Joanie Whittom, was named as their player of the game for her game-high 23 digs.

On the final day of competition, the Gaels will try to win the tie-breaker with Sherbrooke at 1:30pm on Sunday at the ARC.

Day 1
Queen's vs Sherbrooke - BOXSCORE
After losing the first two sets, the Gaels rallied force a fifth set against Sherbrooke on Friday night at the ARC, where they picked up a win to open their Invitational, 12-25, 24-26, 25-21, 25-16, and 15-11.

Shannon Hopkins (North Vancouver, B.C.) and Shannon Neville (Cambridge, Ont.) led the Gaels comeback with 13 and 14 kills, respectively. Neville's strong play in the latter sets earned her player of the game honours for the Gaels.

After Queen's couldn't capitalize on their set-point in the second set, the Gaels doubled their effort in the third set to extend the match. With a dominant 25-16 win in the fourth set, Queen's had some momentum heading into the tie-breaker. The Gaels led 8-4 at the switch, and maintained their four point lead until they won the set and the match on an attack from Niki Slikboer (Seagrave, Ont.). 

The Gaels had a balanced defensive effort, with four players recording double digit digs, led by Hopkins with 18. As a team, Queen's out-blocked the Vert et Or 12-4.

Sherbrooke's Roxane Hasseni earned the other player of the game award with game-highs in kills, with 24, digs, with 29, and service aces, with seven.

Saturday at 6pm, the Gaels will square off with Sherbrooke for their second of three games on Homecoming Weekend.