The Rams defeated the Queen’s University Gaels in four sets on Sunday night.
The Ryerson Rams took to their home court with a determined mindset to protect their 14-game winning streak and establish a 10-point lead over Queen’s Gaels at the top of the eastern conference. The Gaels went into the game having won 3-1 over the University of Toronto’s Varsity Blues last Saturday.
“Knowing they were coming off of such a big win the day before, we were super excited to get on the court and have a good game,” said Rams first-year middle blocker, Lindsay Kleuskens.
The Rams were down early after the Gaels won the first set by a score of 25-20. By the second set, the teams were locked in a battle to defend their respective ends of the court with fierce rallies, but Ryerson’s outside hitter, Cailin Wark, scored three straight points to tie the game 1-1, leading in to the third set.
Kleuskens joined Alicia Lam, Cailin Wark, Lauren Veltman, Theanna Vernon, Julie Longman and Janelle Albert, all contributing to the final 3-1 victory.
To prepare for the game, Kleuskens says the team watched tapes of the Gaels’ previous plays, including their last game against the Varsity Blues.
Sunday’s game marked head coach Dustin Reid’s 101st win as head coach of the Rams women’s volleyball team. Kleuskens said that meticulous preparation before games is Reid’s trick to helping the team stay motivated and in the same mindset.
“He focuses on improving our abilities as a team, not just defending our record,” Kleuskens said. “He is such an awesome coach and brings so much knowledge about the game to our team.”
The Rams have five games remaining in the regular season, with the Windsor Lancers next on the schedule. If they defeat the Lancers, the Rams will equal their all-time record for total wins of 15 in a season, which the team set last season. Tip-off is on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 6 p.m. at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the Ryerson women’s volleyball team could tie its record of 15 straight wins. It should have said that the team could set a record of 15 wins in a season, in this case, consecutively. The previous win streak record, set in the 2013 calendar year, was nine consecutive wins, not 15.