Having been swept by eventual champions McMaster in the OUA Final Four in 2017, the Ryerson Rams women's volleyball team entered a rematch in the 2018 OUA Quigley Cup with confidence and experience they did not possess the year before.
With an undefeated 19-0 season behind them, the Rams wrapped up their OUA campaign making history by winning the final for the program's first-ever championship.
On Friday night, Rams Rewind highlighted the historic match that took place on March 10th, 2018, with head coach Dustin Reid, and players Lauren Veltman and Cailin Wark who were both sophomores during the 2017-2018 season.
"You knew it was a special night," said Reid when watching the start of the match. "Not only were there so many Ryerson students, but what sticks out was how many alumni were in the crowd," he added about the 925 fans in attendance that night.
When asked about her approach coming into a game against such a strong opponent like McMaster, Veltman expressed, "I'm almost in a different headspace when facing big teams." Reid added that the team had a full understanding of the Marauders' strengths and pedigree.
Veltman elaborated on the feeling before the game, saying that beating McMaster on Opening Night set the tone for the rest of their undefeated season, which eventually helped their confidence coming into the Final.
When watching the highs and lows of the game, Reid was complimentary of his players attending the broadcast, saying, "Lauren scores the same way 50 times, and Cailin finds 50 different ways to score."
Wark finished with a game-high of 15 kills, but the collective effort of the team including notable performances from Vetlman, Theanna Vernon, and Alicia Lam was enough for the Rams to secure a 3-1 win over the Marauders.
Wark shared the feeling of winning, saying, "It was bittersweet knowing it was our seniors' last OUA game. Celebrating with the team and our seniors are the memories I'll hold on to the most."
Looking ahead to Nationals was Reid's mindset shortly after the win, sharing, "Winning this game meant we got to play together for another week. We got to play a few more games as a team, which was really amazing."
Veltman and Reid both expressed that winning the OUA championship as well as the U SPORTS National Championship just a week later, really brought the Ryerson Athletics community together as they got to share the journey and the wins with all of them.
It is difficult to honor just one game in arguably the most successful season in Ryerson Rams history, but the last Rams Rewind of the year highlighting the OUA Quigley Cup victory most definitely sparked the memories and conversation about that very special season.
