By Mytchell Brush
The RSEQ Women’s volleyball season is set to kick off on October 14, 2022, when Laval takes on Montreal in the first game of the 2022-23 campaign.
What can be seen as a competitive conference, to say the least, the RSEQ boasts a handful of the nation's top teams from last season such as Laval, Sherbrooke, UQAM and McGill, all of whom are looking to be crowned Conference Champions as well as National Champions - something an RSEQ team hasn’t done since 2005.
Moving into the season, here are the biggest questions that each team has to answer.
McGill Marlets
Finishing 2021-22 with a stellar 9-3 record that saw them capture their first conference championship in program history, the McGill Marlets are looking to carry over their recent success into the new season and go back-to-back.
The Marlets dominated opponents last season with the help of RSEQ All-Star Clara Poire, who averaged 2.22 kills per set.
This leads us to the big question for the Marlets;
With the return of the majority of their championship-calibre starting lineup, will McGill be able to elevate themselves into national title contention in 2022?
Sherbrooke Vert & Or
Narrowly missing out on being crowned champions last season, the Sherbrooke Vert & Or will be looking to avenge their bitter loss to the McGill Marlets this season.
A team that had average offensive output last season with 501 kills (25th in U SPORTS), 10.89 kills per set (24th in U SPORTS) and 1383 total attacks (29th in U SPORTS) the Vert et Or struggled offensively.
Paired with their unfortunate top 5 finish in total blocking errors (36, for 4th in the nation), the Vert & Or will be looking to lean on the likes of their All-Star outside hitter, Emma Bergeron this upcoming season which begs many to ask;
Will the Vert & Or be able to improve on their slower offensive output last season and clean up their blocking errors moving into this season?
UQAM Citadins
Coming off an 8-4 campaign in 2021-22, the UQAM Citadins are looking to earn respect in the RSEQ.
Last season, the Ctiadins started off hot, picking up wins in eight of their first 10 games.
But then came health and safety cancellations, resulting in their five final games being cancelled altogether.
Coming off a pretty long hiatus, UQAM would go on to lose to McGill in the conference semi-finals and Laval in the bronze medal game.
Bringing back 11 players who were in their first season last year, The Citadins will be more experienced and better prepared to compete in the RSEQ conference, while showing their full potential.
This leads us to the burning question facing UQAM this season;
With no cancellations looming, and the opportunity to play through a full regular season in sight, can the Citadins prove they are a force to be reckoned with in the RSEQ?
Laval Rouge et Or
Laval had a very respectable record of 8-4, sitting behind only UQAM, Sherbrooke and McGill.
Experiencing many highs and lows, the Rouge et Or struggled to stay consistent for the course of a full regular season, failing to lock up more wins three in a row at any point last season.
Having narrowly missed out on playing for a conference championship after a heartbreaking loss to the Vert et Or in the semi-finals, the Rouge et Or will have their U SPORTS All-Star Justine Raymond leading the squad this season, with hopes of playing for the conference championship come March 2023.
The biggest question surrounding this program moving into the new season;
Will the leadership and All-Star play of Justine Raymond be enough to help Laval sit atop of the RSEQ Volleyball landscape?
Montreal Carabins
The curtains closed, as some think, too early on Montréal last season.
What was looking like a promising year fell short of anything spectacular finishing with an even 6-6 record.
The Carabins were able to close off their season with a win over the UQTR Patriots to claim fifth place in the conference, with the highlight of the match being Olympe Desmedt who had 16 points to go along with her one assist.
Let’s keep it simple, can the Carabins move past the .500 mark this season?
Ottawa Gee-Gees
Finishing with a disappointing record of 1-11, the Ottawa Gee-Gees have a lot of question marks moving into the 2022-23 campaign.
A young team that did not see a lot of success last year, Ottawa will be looking to lean into their strong recruiting class and returning players for the upcoming year. Led by last year’s RSEQ All-Star Tristan Peterson, the Gee-Gees will need to improve greatly to be anywhere near the running for an RSEQ championship.
Will a new group of recruits and young talent be able to steer this program toward success this season?
UQTR Patriotes
The UQTR Patriotes have seen little success in the top division of the RSEQ since their return in 2020.
Having won back-to-back RSEQ division two conference championships in 2016/17 and 2017/18, the Patriots returned to Division one of the RSEQ under new co-head coaches, Marie-Christine Mondor and Myrianne Courteau.
But, last year, the Patriots posted a disappointing 1-11 record, putting them at the bottom of the conference.
Moving into this season the big question surrounding the Patriots will be if they can improve on their 31st nationally-ranked kills per game and their 30th nationally-ranked digs per game.
With that being said, will the Patriotes be able to turn their dismal offence and defence around this season, and improve on their 1-11 record?
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