TORONTO — The No. 2 Ryerson Rams will look to maintain their undefeated record this weekend as they hit the road to take on two OUA West rivals in the Guelph Gryphons and the nationally ranked Waterloo Warriors.
The Rams improved to a 4-0 record on the year with back-to-back wins against the York Lions and the Nipissing Lakers last week. Both opponents would claim first-set victories but the Rams stormed back to take three straight and claim 3-1 wins in each match.
While last week's first-set troubles are cause for concern, the Rams' stars have shone brightly in each of their four victories this season. Sam Cyrille (Scarborough, Ont.) and
Brett Hagarty (Aurora, Ont.) rank first and second in the OUA in digs per set with 5.0 and 4.69 respectively, while outside hitter
Cailin Wark (Georgetown, Ont.) sits fourth in the league with 3.31 kills per set. Setter
Lauren Wong (Scarborough, Ont.) tied the program's single-game record for service aces (nine) in Friday's win over Nipissing, and her 9.77 assists per set ranks first in the league.
The Rams will be put to the test this weekend as they head west to face off against the Guelph Gryphons and the Waterloo Warriors for the first and only time this season.
Friday's matchup against the Gryphons will certainly be challenging for both teams. Guelph currently boasts a 3-1 record on the year, suffering their only loss to the Western Mustangs on October 30. The Gryphons currently lead the OUA with 12.53 kills per set and rank within the top three in hitting percentage (.230), assists per set (11.33), digs per set (16.47), solo blocks (17), and points per set (16.8). The Gryphons are exceptionally strong on paper, making for an extremely interesting Friday night matchup against the visiting Rams.
Ryerson will head to Waterloo the following evening in a top-ten clash against the Warriors. Waterloo dropped their only game of the season in a 3-1 (28-26, 20-25, 13-25, 17-25) contest against the Gryphons a few weeks ago but bounced back to earn two straight wins last weekend — including a crucial 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 16-25, 25-18, 15-9) win over the Mustangs — to improve to a 2-1 record on the year. The Warriors have put up an extremely strong block this season, ranking second in the league with an average of 2.17 blocks per set. Their OUA-best 2.92 service aces per set also reflects a group of extremely strong servers, and Ryerson will need to perfect their serve-receive if they want to return home with a win against the Warriors.
The OUA West presents a new pair of challengers for the Rams this weekend. Ryerson will have just one chance this season to prove themselves against their cross-division opponents, and the Rams certainly appear to be up for the task.
Both of this weekend's matches will begin at 6:00 p.m. and can be streamed live on OUA.tv.
