After the men’s team during the 2023-24 season, it is the turn of the Vert & Or women’s volleyball team to begin the second portion of its regular schedule without having suffered a single defeat.
In the very competitive RSEQ conference, the girls presented an 11-0 record against their opponents.
End the famine
Even more impressive, Sherbrooke won 33 sets…and only lost two.
Two.
“Yes, I’m surprised. I would be lying if I said otherwise! The girls have been very consistent. But it’s a surprise,” said head coach Claude Tremblay.
The objective has not changed. Win the provincials.
“That’s the goal, for sure. We don’t see anything other than that. We want to get to the Canadian Championship. We have a young team, and we want to get that experience, in order to get closer to the standard of the best teams in the country.”
— Claude Tremblay, head coach of the Vert & Or
Last time the Vert & Or won a provincial championship?
20 years ago.
“We have a lot of depth; I recruited two girls who were named college MVPs the last two years (Béatrice Dubreuil and Oriane Racine). We had some good veterans already in place. We had some questions at the setter position, with the departure of Emma Bergeron, but Elle-Marie (Fillion) was very effective. “She runs the game really well. She’s 6′1′′, she’s also a force on the block.”
“We have a few six-foot girls, but the girls jump really high. I’ve never had a team like that. There is not a girl in the starting six who does not reach three meters. It helps. We have no obvious weakness in the block; the adversary cannot exploit one girl more than another.”
“Despite its greatness, Gabrielle Minier, for example, is probably one of the best powerhouses in Quebec. She’s fast, aggressive.”
Center player Gabrielle Minier. (Jean Roy/Archives La Tribune)
Still. Despite the success, Claude Tremblay’s troop worked on various strategic points in order to develop its game, starting Friday, when the girls will host the McGill Martlets, starting at 6 p.m.
McGill, led for a final season by Sherbrooke Rachèle Béliveau, is currently in fifth place.
The Carabins of the University of Montreal are hot on the heels of the Vert & Or in the standings, with a 10-1 record.
“We made changes to our game system during the holidays, in order to be more unpredictable. We know that the teams will be waiting for us. We worked a lot with the attackers; It’s a little more complex, we’ve gotten there. We should get by,” continues Claude Tremblay.
Tremblay, who arrived in Sherbrooke in 2023, works in the coaching volleyball for several decades.
He is full of praise for his current cohort.
Claude Tremblay has led the Vert & Or since the 2023-24 season. (Jean Roy/Archives La Tribune)
“I’ve been managing for 40 years, I have an exceptional group. All the girls are competitive. I leave some really good players on the bench, I know they are capable of playing, they work hard to take their place. The caliber internally is incredible.”
“We have six recruits this season and 10 second-year girls and younger. We don’t have weaknesses in each position, and we have replacements in each position. We are going to have the same group next year,” says Claude Tremblay.
Depth that will undoubtedly be very useful for the end of the season.
Guys in action
Note that the Vert & Or men’s volleyball team also begins its second half of the season, Friday evening, starting at 8 p.m., while Dalhousie University will be in town.
The guys sit at the top of the Quebec rankings, with a record of 7-1.
