Tag: Brenda Willis

Men's volleyball close season empty-handed

The men’s volleyball team’s remarkable mid-season turnaround to reach the U Sports National Championship finally came to an end this past weekend in Hamilton.   The Gaels closed their season with a quarterfinal 3-1 loss to the nationally-ranked second Alberta Golden Bears and a 3-0 consolation semi-final...

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Men’s volleyball head to U Sports Championship

Following a straight-sets win over RMC on Feb. 11, men’s volleyball head coach Brenda Willis told her team — who, at 6-8, were fighting for a playoff berth — to keep their confidence high and composure steady.  “If we can stick [to] our game plan and everybody stays in system,” Willis recalled telling...

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Queen’s only female varsity coach to retire this spring

As of March 2018, men’s volleyball head coach Brenda Willis will be retiring from Queen’s after 31 years with the school. Her decision effectively leaves the university with no full-time female head coaches on its staff directory. Willis came to Queen’s in 1987 after a pair of coaching stints at the...

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Men's volleyball ousted from playoffs by undefeated McMaster

The men’s volleyball team closed out their season this Saturday with a 3-0 loss to the undefeated McMaster Marauders in the quarter-finals of the OUA playoffs. While the Marauders dominated the first set 25-15, the Gaels were able to put a little more pressure on their opposition in final two sets,...

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Men’s volleyball team looks forward to season’s second half

Returning to class with the cold winter upon us, volleyball season is just starting to heat up. The men’s team begin the second half of their season this weekend against a 2-7 Royal Military College team, looking to continue their strong start to the 2016-17 campaign. When the season began, there...

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Nearly breaking rank

Marked improvement and a mid-season acquisition were on display Saturday for the men’s volleyball team. On Saturday the Gaels played host to the Guelph Gryphons, which resulted in three consecutive set wins. On Sunday, the Gaels fell in five sets to the Waterloo Warriors, ranked 10th in the CIS. “We...

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Cashing in on championships

Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie drops back, winds up and tosses a 65-yard prayer to the Miami end zone. It’s caught, the Eagles win and the comeback is complete. It was 28 years ago when Flutie made his infamous game-winning toss against the Miami Hurricanes. The ‘Flutie Effect’ was coined...

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Stopped by the ‘Stangs

The youthful men’s volleyball team showed their progression in a tight match with Western last weekend. The Gaels went 1-1 at home, edging the Windsor Lancers 3-2 on Saturday and losing to the Western Mustangs 3-1 on Sunday. “I’m happy with how we came out today,” said outside hitter Philippe Goyer...

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Ontario finds winning strategy

The OUA is getting serious about winning. This season, the conference posted its best results so far this century, securing 12 of 21 Canadian Interuniversity Sport titles. Ontario teams dominated their usual sports — track and field, men’s basketball and wrestling — while winning titles in areas where...

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End of an era for men's volleyball

For Joren Zeeman, there’s no solace in a fourth-place finish. The men’s volleyball team is trying to come to terms with the outcome of last weekend’s CIS championship at the ARC — an event the Gaels had been anticipating for five years. “I’m obviously proud to say we did the best the Queen’s men’s...

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Queen’s hosts volleyball nationals

Men’s volleyball coach Brenda Willis measures her career in benchmarks. In 1987, she took over a team that hadn’t won a provincial title in 15 years and played its home games in the smallest gym at the now-defunct PEC. “There were no seats,” Willis said. “They’d bring out a stack of 50 chairs for...

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Tournament part of Queen's long-term plans

The CIS men’s volleyball championship this weekend is part of Queen’s Athletics’ larger plan to become one of Canada’s leading athletics programs, according to Athletics Director Leslie Dal Cin. “We build our teams to be competitive in championships. We’re prepared to host championships,” she said. “It...

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Gaels win OUA championship

As the host of the 2012 CIS men’s volleyball championship, Queen’s automatically had a berth in the national tournament. But captain Niko Rukavina wanted the team to earn their spot. The Gaels did just that in London on Saturday, beating the Western Mustangs in the OUA final to secure a provincial...

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One last stand

The men’s volleyball coach has stopped waiting for her sidelined players to return. Going into the last weekend of the regular season, the men’s volleyball team has ruled out two injured fifth-years, outside hitter Bryan Fautley and setter Dan Rosenbaum. “We’re at a point where we’re going with the...

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Hot streak

The men’s volleyball team extended its winning streak to 11 straight sets after a perfect weekend in Toronto. The Gaels beat the Ryerson Rams 3-0 on Saturday afternoon and defeated the Toronto Varsity Blues by the same score on Sunday. The streak dates back to a 3-2 win over the York Lions on Jan....

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Eyes on March

It’s been a tough season for the men’s volleyball team, but coach Brenda Willis is quietly confident as she looks toward the CIS championship in March. The team went 3-4 in its first seven regular season games, but is 5-2 since then. “The first half of the season wasn’t part of the original plan,”...

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Rookies beat RMC

The Gaels’ rookies were too much for the winless Royal Military College Paladins on Friday night. The men’s volleyball team’s bench beat the Paladins in straight sets in Kingston to improve to an 8-6 record. Head coach Brenda Willis said she used the game to keep her rookies and upper-year backups...

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Split on the road

The men’s volleyball team struggled with a difficult road trip this weekend, falling to the McMaster Marauders 3-2 on Saturday before narrowly defeating the York Lions in five sets on Sunday afternoon. The win and the loss leaves the Gaels at 7-6 and tied for fifth in the OUA. Friday’s game in Hamilton...

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Blown lead

The men’s volleyball team was on track for a winning weekend when it led the McMaster Marauders 2-0 last Saturday. But McMaster came roaring back, winning the last three sets 25-22, 26-24 and 15-11. Five of the last seven games between the two teams have been decided in five sets. But the Gaels have...

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Early losing streak

After a sour weekend in Southern Ontario, the men’s volleyball team is on an early-season losing streak. The Gaels fell 3-1 to the Windsor Lancers on Friday, their first loss to Windsor since 2005. Head coach Brenda Willis said her team wasn’t expecting a challenge. “They really beat us on the left...

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Straight set win

An inexperienced men’s volleyball lineup won its first regular season game in straight sets over the Royal Military College Paladins at the ARC on Friday night. Middle hitter Philippe Goyer recorded nine kills in the 25-12, 25-18, 25-18 victory. Four of the team’s regular starters are injured and...

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Laval's secret

The Laval Rouge et Or’s $5 million operating budget and superior recruiting model will be on display when their men’s and women’s volleyball teams visit Queen’s for exhibition games this weekend. Barring 2008, both teams have been to every national championship since 1998 and finished last season...

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