By Nashra Syed
The Rams men’s volleyball team lost their second-last game of preseason against the Université de Sherbrooke Vert & Or at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) on Friday, Oct. 29.
The Rams assistant coach Niko Rukavina led the group on Friday due to their head coach, Matthew Harris, being absent.
“There’s a lot to improve on, especially this early in the year. I think the serve-pass game is important for us to be aggressive with our serving and with our passing,” said Rukavina.
The Rams started the game by deploying Saad Shaikh, Omari Young, Trent Ketrzynski, Derek Webster, Alex Lengweiler and Jacob Walker. There were good plays made by both teams, but Sherbrooke played stronger and took the first set 23-25.
With Sherbrooke serving the second set, their power was unmatchable. Attacks were made by both sides but the visitor’s serves and blocks were too much to handle. The Rams trailed behind in the second set and lost 19-25.
Things started to get interesting in the third set with Sherbrooke once again opening with a serve. A service error saw the first point in the set go to the Rams.
Many power plays from the home side were made by Rams middle Omari Young, which included a number of blocks. The Rams were able to tie the set up at 15 and the lead continued to change hands. However, it was the blue and gold who managed to take the set 31-29.
With the pressure on both teams, Rams started the final set off strong. Young served the first point with a kill, giving the Rams an early lead.
Faults made by Sherbrooke and strong plays made by Ryerson gave the Rams the upper hand throughout the set. The Rams were able to consistently tie or lead by a few points several times in the fourth set.
Walker made great plays during the fourth set, which helped his team gain extra points. But despite a strong effort, the Rams lead slowly evaporated. The home team put up a strong fight, dropping the final set by a tight score of 23-25.
Although the Rams were able to take one set Friday night, Sherbrooke’s power was ultimately too strong for them. They’ll get another crack at their opponents bright and early on Saturday morning to end the preseason.
“I think the main thing is knowing who we’re playing,” said Rukavina. “We didn’t really have a lot of tape on them before, so now we’ve seen them already…I think we can come in a bit more confident,” said Rukavina.
UP NEXT: The Rams are back in action on Oct. 30 against the Université de Sherbrooke. First serve is set for 10 a.m.
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