TORONTO — The No. 2 Ryerson Rams are preparing to face off in what may shape up to be the most important weekend of the season, heading across town to face the No. 4 Toronto Varsity Blues before returning home to face off against the Trent Excalibur.
The Rams recently ran into some trouble last weekend against the RMC Paladins, dropping the third set 27-25 in a four-set win over the last-ranked team in the division. Prior to their 3-1 (15-25, 16,25, 27-25, 16-25) loss to Ryerson, the Paladins had only won four sets across five matches this season, three of which came in a sweep over the Trent Excalibur.
A third-set lapse against RMC doesn't exactly put a damper on the teams' success as of late. With a 7-0 record on the year, the Rams are the only undefeated team remaining in the OUA. They rank first in the league in kills per set (12.33), digs per set (16.80) and assists per set (11.73). Four different Rams lead the OUA in four different statistics: outside hitter
Cailin Wark (Georgetown, Ont.) with 100 kills, setter
Lauren Wong (Scarborough, Ont.) with 9.41 assists per set, libero
Samantha Cyrille (Scarborough, Ont.) and outside hitter
Brett Hagarty (Aurora, Ont.) are tied with 122 digs, and Cyrille in digs per set with 4.88.
The group of OUA leaders will be put to the test this weekend as they prepare to take on the No. 4 Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday night and the Trent Excalibur on Saturday.
This week's OUA Marquee Matchup, Friday's clash against Toronto marks the cross-town rivals' final meeting of the regular season. The last time these two teams met, the Rams squeaked out a 3-2 (25-21, 16-25, 27-25, 19-25, 15-13) win on opening weekend; the Varsity Blues have been undefeated ever since, most recently snapping the Brock Badgers' undefeated streak with a 3-2 (25-16, 19-25, 25-18, 24-26, 15-13) win in St. Catharines last weekend. National ranking implications aside, the matchup could very well determine the OUA East standings come February and serves as a crucial litmus test for both teams far ahead of postseason competition.
Clashes between the provinces' top two teams never disappoint, but the Rams will need to return to their season-opening form if they hope to maintain their undefeated record and pull out a win against their closest rivals. First serve will fly on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. at the Goldring Centre in Toronto.
The Rams will then return home to face off against Trent on Saturday evening on the Coca-Cola Court. The Excalibur have been swept in all but one contest this year, dropping 3-0 matches to Guelph, Toronto, Queen's, York, Guelph, Nipissing, and RMC. Trent will look to capitalize on the Rams' fatigue after the previous night's top-ten battle, but the Rams still hold the edge in the matchup. The team has never lost a match to Trent and will look to keep that streak alive on Saturday evening at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Both games this weekend are set to begin at 6:00 p.m. and will be broadcasted live on OUA.tv.
