Finally home, Rams men’s volleyball get back into the swing of things

TORONTO — The schedule for the Rams men’s volleyball team looks like a rough draft of an essay, with a slew of rescheduled games and scheduling annotations dotting the messy calendar of the second semester. Like many of their contemporaries, the Rams have been displaced by a COVID-plagued season that has left little room for stability, routine, and comfort among athletes and coaches alike.

But even with all of their logistical jostling, the Rams are back in action and are ready to turn the tides on their season.

“First and foremost, we are all incredibly excited and grateful to be back together on the court training,” interim head coach Niko Rukavina said. 

On February 11, they’ll take on the York Lions at the Tait McKenzie Centre before turning around and welcoming the Lions to the Mattamy Athletic Centre on February 12. Afterwards, they’ll take on the University of Toronto in a pair of matches on February 18 and 19. 

“It’s definitely hard to get back into it right away, especially when we have games in the span of 1-2 weeks,” libero Lhexen Rabit said of the team’s lengthy and spontaneous hiatus. “But, now that we’re back to practicing, me and the boys are very excited.” 

Added rookie libero Adrian Gaspar: “The boys are hungry. We’ve been training hard during the isolation and as soon as we got back this week we started going hard together.”

While the team’s rocky first half included a triumphant victory against York at home, they also suffered defeat at the hands of the Varsity Blues in a three-set sweep on November 20. Still, the team’s core remains optimistic about battling their crosstown rivals in tough tilts in the second half. 

“I think we have a different mindset this time and I’m hoping there’s a positive outcome,” Rabit added.

“This second half of the year is going to show the league what we can really do as a team,” Gaspar remarked confidently.  

Elsewhere in the second half, the Rams will take on the Trent Excalibur (0-6) and the RMC Paladins (3-2) in re-scheduled games, both of which will provide key litmus tests for a team that could sneak into the playoff picture if things go their way. Historically, the team has played to perfect records of 8-0 and 19-0 against Trent and RMC, respectively, going back to the 2011 season. 

“We didn’t exactly have the first semester that we thought we were going to have,” middle Omari Young noted, “but we all feel that we have been working hard and are ready to turn that around.”

“We are feeling very excited to have the chance to wear our jerseys and compete as Rams again,” Rukavina concluded. 

In terms of personnel, Rukavina noted that the team lost middle Alex Lengweiler, a Swiss import who played in 19 sets and tallied 28 kills in the first half. On the flipside, the Rams will welcome back outside hitter Nick Hudson, who is returning from a shoulder injury and could make an immediate impact. In the second half, look for program anchors Saad Shaikh and Sean Shultis to provide much needed stability to a wild season.