The Queen's Gaels swept the Guelph Gryphons 3-0 on Saturday afternoon in the ARC for their Pride game. Leading the Gaels offense was outside hitter Abigail McAlpine (Arts & Science), who made 9 kills and 3 service aces. Supporting the offense was setter Ellaina Coley (Arts & Science) who made 26 assists and 2 service aces. Libero Holly Biasi (Arts & Science) held strong defensively with 16 digs and 1 kill; an impressive feat from a libero. The Gaels displayed impressive depth on the service line, landing 9 service aces as a team from 5 different athletes.
The Gryphons opened up the game with five unanswered points, finding themselves an early 1-6 lead and forcing a Queen's timeout. Returning from the break, McAlpine came through with kill to shift the momentum, as the Gaels proceeded to pick up five consecutive points to tie the game back up at 6-6. Middle Christine Abu (Arts & Science) made back-to-back service aces, stunning the Guelph defense. The Gaels were strong on the service line in the opening set, with 5 service aces coming from 4 different players. Setter Coley made a strategic dump as the Gaels neared set point, and Claire Carter (Business) put up the final kill to close out the set 25-16.
After finding their rhythm midway through the first set, the Gaels carried that energy into the second set. Queen's put up five consecutive points with no response from the Gryphons, earning an early 9-3 lead. Midway through the set, the Gryphons began to find some momentum, but the Gaels remained composed. Guelph started to struggle with their errors and Queen's was able to close out the set with back-to-back double blocks from Coley and Lauren MacPhail (Arts & Science). The Gaels took the second set 25-17, going up two sets to none.
The Gaels looked dominant in the third set, picking up the first eight points with no response from the Gryphons. Libero Biasi made a stunning kill from behind the attack line, elating the home crowd. Guelph began to edge their way onto the scoreboard, but the Gaels held strong, maintaining their lead. Queen's reached set point off a service ace from McAlpine, holding a confident 24-16 lead. The Gaels earned themselves the sweep by winning the final set 25-19.
Up next, the Gaels will look forward to facing off against the RMC Paladins on the road on January 23rd at 6pm. In the post-game interview, McAlpine was asked about what these two wins meant to start out the new year, and they said, "it really sets the stage and the tone for the rest of the season." Queen's extends their win streak to three and improves their record to 7-5 after their two big wins this weekend.
