By Jordan Jacklin
The Rams women’s volleyball team reached a season milestone against the Trent Excalibur on Wednesday night, winning their first game of the campaign in straight sets at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
Trent’s players struggled to keep up with the pace of play in the beginning of the game. Katelyn Grasman set the pace early for the team in the first set and setter Alicia Lam was crisp on her serve selection, choosing short serves, targeted serves and gap serves. Fellow Rams outside hitter Jia Lonardi entered the set about halfway through and earned the Rams 16 strikes with her powerful kills.
The Rams would make easy work of their opponent, winning the first set 25-13.
“I think we went through a lot of issues at the beginning of the season, but there was never a change in our pregame routine or workout,” said Rams outside hitter Scarlett Gingera. “We were always as good of a team.”
Rams player Olivia Yang’s constant communication and leadership helped lead the Rams to a 25-9 victory in the second set. The team played with a lot of quickness despite their being a young group—10 of the team’s 21 players are first-year students.
Gingera made a crucial block in the third set to make it 22-16 for the Rams.
It takes a team effort to build a solid foundation, and that was the vision of Rams head coach Dustin Reid heading into the season.
Reid was very proud of his team’s success, but emphasized the results were not the biggest factor for him.
“I’m happy today to get to see them enjoy their moment. We’re a group that [has] faced different types of adversity all season, and I’ve probably been more proud of some the results that didn’t turn out our way,” said Reid. “There’s a lot of heart, a lot of character with this team.”
UP NEXT: The Rams will take on the Trent Excalibur at Ryerson again on March 4. First-serve is scheduled for 8 p.m.
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