The Gee-Gees women’s volleyball team hosted their annual Pre-Season Classic Oct. 4 – 6, hosting seven teams from across Ontario, Quebec and Halifax.
Fourth-year French student Kayla Bell-Hammond said the tournament was a great opportunity to compete and allowed the Gees to play different teams.
“This tournament is a great opportunity for us to play teams that aren’t in our league and to compete against different styles of teams.” she said. Beel-Hammond thought the most exciting thing this weekend was playing as a team. It was their first time competing as 12 players during the 2013-2014 season. “Everyone was ready to play, and compete together,” said Bell-Hammond.
The Gee-Gees had a full line up ready to play and came out strong during the Oct. 4 game with two wins in a row against Nipissing University (2–0) and University of Guelph (2–1). The next morning, the Gees continued their winning streak with a close win over McGill University ending the games 2–1.
On Oct. 5, they played their semi final match against Saint Mary’s University with close scores in all five sets. Unfortunately, they came up short and were defeated 16–14 in the final set. The Gee-Gees were determined to win the bronze medal game Oct. 6. With their forceful, fast, and up-tempo play, the Gees won three sets out of four with scores of 5–10, 28–30, 25–13, and 26–24.
Fourth-year social science student Stephanie Theiler was named a tournament all-star with her great passes as libero and great leadership on the court.
Preseason games are a good indication of how the team will play in the regular season and what its focus needs to be for the upcoming games. Theiler said playing at home during the preseason was definitely a plus and this tournament was a time to try out different things.
“I think we had a lot of successful moments which really helps with the team’s confidence,” she said. “I’m excited to see what this team can accomplish. We’re a bit taller, a bit faster, and we’re really pushing the tempo with our system, so it will definitely make for an interesting season.”
Bell-Hammond said she was excited to compete as a team and to face tough challenges.
“This tournament allows us to compete as a new team and prepare us for our regular season. We are able to create team chemistry and play hard,” she said.
The next preseason game for the Gee-Gees will take place at Montpetit Hall against Laval University on Oct. 12 at 2:30 p.m.
