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Navreet Suhan and Saad Shaikh celebrate a point against Queen's.
Photo by Hung Le

Volleyball (M) Emile Riga

Rams visit strong Guelph team for OUA quarter-final

TORONTO - The Ryerson Rams men's volleyball team will be taking on the Guelph Gryphons in the opening round of the OUA playoffs. 

The 11-7 Rams will be traveling to the 11-6 Gryphons home court this Saturday, which will be their first matchup against the Gryphons since November 8th, 2019. 

"It seems like so long ago that we played them," said Rams head coach Matt Harris following last week's last final regular season match. "They're a hard team, we're going to be on the road, so definitely looking to compete and get a road win," he followed. 

The Gryphons were on a four-game win-streak when they last faced off against the Rams, coming in hot to sweep Ryerson 3-0 convincingly. The Rams were missing crucial veteran player Taryq Sani (Scarborough, Ont.) when they last saw the Gryphons, and often look like a different team with him on the court. Sani averages the most digs per set on the team, as well as the second-most kills per set at 2.49. 

Since that matchup in early November, the Gryphons have not looked like the strongest second seed the OUA has ever seen, losing six of their next twelve matches including losses to the Mustangs and Badgers, both being teams the Rams have beaten 3-0. So despite the Rams struggling against top OUA teams this season, the Gryphons have had that same issue and have even lost games where they were heavily favoured. 

The Gryphons are a very strong offensive team that ranks third in the province in kills and fourth in assists. What the Rams will be looking for, is a strong defensive performance to force Guelph to make mistakes, as they lead the OUA in errors. 

"Guelph's a strong team," said Rams senior outside hitter Joel Hannan (Toronto). "I think what we'll have on them is our defence, it's going to give us a lot of points against them. We know them really well and I think we can handle their serving quite well," Hannan added.

As the Rams are the OUA's top-ranked team in blocks, they will be eager to show that against a multitude of Guelph hitters. 

Ryerson is looking to advance into the OUA semifinal for the fifth time in the last eight seasons and will strive to redeem themselves after a quarter-finals loss against the Windsor Lancers last season. With Ryerson's core being the same as last season's and additions being made to it this season, they will certainly expect a more composed and sharper team out there on Saturday. 

First serve at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre will be at 1:00 p.m. and will be available to stream on OUA.tv. 
 
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Players Mentioned

Joel Hannan

#17 Joel Hannan

OH
6' 7"
2
Taryq Sani

#14 Taryq Sani

OH
6' 2"
4

Players Mentioned

Joel Hannan

#17 Joel Hannan

6' 7"
2
OH
Taryq Sani

#14 Taryq Sani

6' 2"
4
OH