KINGSTON, Ont. (November 1^st, 2019) The Queens Gaels (2-1) lost a close fifth set battle 3-2 against the McMaster Marauders (1-2) in their home opener. 
 
GAME FLOW
 
The Gaels were challenged by a strong Marauders attack to open the match. McMaster looked dominant early and win the set handedly 25-11. The Gaels bounced back in the second set as Arielle Palermo and Julia Wiercigroch turned things around for Queen's. Palmero lead the match with 19 kills and four aces while Wiercigroch followed closely behind with a well rounded performance, accumulating 13 kills, 12 digs and three aces. 

Queen's rolled through the second set, winning it 25-21. 

The third set was a point-for-point game, as the Gaels attack just had enough to come out on top with 25-23 set victory. Queen's and McMaster continued to battle late until the fourth set with Queen's looking to win the game. The Marauders managed to pull ahead and took the set 25-22, tying the game up 2-2 and sending the Gaels into a fifth set.

Queen's battled hard in the tough fifth set, however, despite their strong performance, the Marauders took the set 15-13 and won the match 3-2. Gaels finished the match with a kill % of .109 and had 67 total digs. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS 
55 - Queens racked up a total of 55 kills to McMaster's 53
67- Queens finished with as total of 67 digs to McMaster's 73
12 - Queens put up 12 aces to McMaster's 8
 
QUOTE FROM HEAD COACH 
"We struggled in the first set, but after that we showed a lot of resiliency and determination to comeback. Right now we have a few injuries that we're fighting through and that's definitely been a challenge. McMaster played very well and you have to give them the credit,"  said Gaels head coach Ryan Ratushniak. 
 
UP NEXT  
The Gaels will face off against the Brock Badgers on their home court in the ARC Main Gym. Watch live on OUA.TV and for tickets visit gogaelsgo.com/tickets