TORONTO - The Ryerson Rams men's volleyball team is set to face the Nipissing Lakers and the Trent Excalibur this upcoming weekend.
With four games left in the season, the fight for playoff seeds has begun and teams are looking to play their best volleyball before heading into the postseason.
The Rams currently hold the No. 3 seed in the OUA East division and trail the No. 2 Queen's Gaels by four points. A team eager to surpass the Rams are this Friday's opponents visiting Coca-Cola Court, the Nipissing Lakers, who are tied with the Rams in points with a game in hand.
Friday's match will be a huge one for both teams, as a third-place finish in the OUA East would most likely mean a matchup against the No. 2 OUA West seed Guelph Gryphons. Despite the Gryphons being a very strong team, a fourth-place OUA East finish would result in a playoff matchup against the 12-1 McMaster Marauders, something every school in Ontario will want to avoid for as long as possible.
The Lakers are arguably an even matchup for the Rams, as both teams evenly lead the OUA in blocks, have one main offensive threat-type player, and sit on 16 points so far this season. Both teams have had very similar results against the field this season, consistently beating the teams under .500 and struggling against the top OUA teams.
The Rams will look to recreate one of their best wins of the season when they defeated Nipissing in North Bay without veteran outside hitter
Taryq Sani (Scarborough, Ont.) in four tight sets. The Rams dominated the blocks in that match early in the season, which showed to be the difference as every other statistical category was nearly even.
Notable players for the Lakers that the Rams will be looking out for, will be freshman outside hitter Jackson Young, who has the fifth-most kills in the OUA this season. Jeremie Murray will also be a major threat against the Rams, as he leads the OUA in total blocks, blocks per set and block assists.
The Rams will head to Peterborough the next day to take on the Trent Excalibur, who have yet to find a win so far this season. The Rams will be looking to focus on the details against the Excalibur, sorting out small elements of their game that will matter most in the playoffs, and might also be resting some of their starters in preparation for next weekend.
With the Rams not having any games this past weekend, they will feel prepared and in tune to grab all four points this weekend. Look for Rams outside hitter
Xander Ketrzynski (Toronto) to have a big game against the Lakers, as he had 20 kills in their last matchup. Sani will also be looking for an impactful night since the Lakers are yet to go up against him this season.
First serve on Friday will be at 8:00 p.m. on Coca-Cola Court, and Saturday's will be at the Trent Athletic Centre at 7:00 p.m. Make sure to catch both games on OUA.tv.
