TORONTO – The Ryerson Rams women's volleyball team got back in the win column with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-17) sweep of the Windsor Lancers on Friday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
BOXSCORE
Theanna Vernon (Scarborough, Ont.) had a game-high 14 kills and 18 points to lead the Rams while Veronica Livingston (Kelowna, B.C.) added nine kills and a game-high 16 digs in the win.
The Rams started slowly in the first but erased a four point deficit by the technical timeout to lead 16-15 at the break. Reserves Jade Griffiths (Windsor, Ont.) and Kate McIlmoyle (London, Ont.) came in and stabilized things defensively and from the service line for the Rams as Ryerson took control down the stretch to win the set 25-21.
"I thought we were really tentative and nervous at the beginning and when you're on a losing streak, that happens. For Jade to come in and stablize our play on the floor for a few rotations was great," said head coach Dustin Reid following the game.
In the second the Rams held a slim 16-14 advantage at the technical timeout but the offence piled up 17 kills in the frame to earn a 25-19 set win to take a commanding 2-0 match lead.
The Rams could sense a victory and played hard for every ball in the third set, chasing down stray balls and winning some scramble plays. Ryerson led 16-11 at the technical and was able to close the set out with a 25-17 victory to complete the sweep.
"I feel so happy that we could pull this out after a tough two games last weekend," said Vernon following the game. "It was great that we came together and could pull off the win. We all did our own jobs and passing was amazing which was able to run our offence."
"We've had some difficult few weeks and haven't performed the way we've wanted to and to play well as a team today was a nice feeling...win or lose," said Reid.
Ryerson racked up 44 kills throughout the game and committed just 15 attack errors for a 27.1% hitting percentage. Windsor, meanwhile, could manage just 35 kills and a 19.8% hitting percentage.
Jade Ziebarth led the Lancers with 13 kills in the losing effort.
The Rams improve to 13-5 and have clinched home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs. Windsor falls to 11-7 on the season and remains in third place in the west.
Ryerson closes out the regular season on Saturday with a tilt against the Western Mustangs on Senior Night starting at 6:00 p.m. at the MAC.
