“We have a really good group, very driven and then coming out of not competing for so long, there hasn’t been a lack of motivation by the athletes in our training,” said Ratushniak, who added he was very proud of how his team handled the year away from competitive volleyball. “When we were able to start playing normal six-on-six volleyball and practice, the intensity level and the focus was so strong. We weren’t even keeping score and they were so focused and so intense. And now it’s just practice.
“They’re very excited, they’re working hard. We’re getting better every day and that’s what the focus has been.”
Queen’s finished the 2019 season third in the OUA East behind the Toronto Varsity Blues and the Rams with a 12-7 record. Ratushniak said the coaching staff has liked what they’ve seen so far heading into the 2021-22 season.
“It looks like it like we’re moving really well. We’re very dynamic where we’re jumping, we’re hitting the ball hard, serving hard, all those elements that we want to be doing.”
Roster breakdown
Ratushniak said he likes his roster from top to bottom heading into the season, with veteran setters and strong outside hitters and liberos. He also said the middle position is solid, but the depth there has been tested by a few early injuries.
“We’ve got setters that are very experienced now, in their third or fourth year in university. In that position we’re really excited about what our setters are able to do on the court and running our offense. Their play’s been really solid so far this fall, and I think we’re solid in that position.
“The outside position is going to be the strength of our team. We have a lot of strong outside hitters and a lot of depth in that position, which is nice. One of our second-year outsides, Hannah Duchesneau, just came back from playing with Team Canada in the Pan Am Cup tournament in Dominican Republic. We have a lot of strong players in that position.
“Our liberal position is also a very strong position for us. We have a third-year libero, Vivian Zanutel, and then we have two first-years, Rachael Capasso and Holly Biasi, who have come in and are really strong in that position for first-years as well.
“We’ve had a couple injuries early on, especially in our middle positions, we had a couple of ankle injuries. We have five middles on our roster, and for a while we were training with three middles only, so that’s been a little bit of a concern. We have some good players in that position, but just in our training environment our depth in that position hasn’t been as strong.”
Key Players
Ratushniak said there are almost too many players to mention. Outside of the four previously mentioned players – Duchesneau, Zanutel, Capasso, and Biasi – Ratushniak also pointed out some important veterans on the team both on and off the court.
“There’s so many players that we could talk about.
“Mary Stewart has been very strong. Right now she has the highest spike touch on our team. She’s really playing well.
“One of our previous OUA All-Stars, Arielle Palermo. She’s been a really strong server for us and all around player and our level has definitely been raised in the gym with all the other strong outsides we have. There’s so many of our outsides I can talk about.
“But also, one of our fifth-year middles is going to be a key for us in Saffron Van Der Linde. She’s been really focused. She’s stayed in Kingston all summer to train and was really dedicated to being at her best for her fifth year and she’s got a lot of great experience.
“It’s nice that we have back Natalie Crews also. She’s only in her third year of eligibility, but really would be a fifth-year player. She had a knee injury in her second year here at Queen’s but has been working hard to come back and the last year she played for us which was my first year here, she was a driving force on our team as a middle blocker and a leader on the court. It’s nice to have her on-court leadership back in the gym on a regular basis, and not just in the gym but on the court as well.”
Team goals
Ratushniak said he thinks it’s necessary for his team to target the highest goal this season, but stressed that it’s the daily work put in that will ultimately lead to any success the team achieves.
“At the U SPORTS level, the goal is to make it to a national championship and to win a national championship. I think you have to have that as your overarching goal for your program on a regular basis.
“We talk a lot about that, but then the focus is still on the process of how we’re going to improve to get there and achieve that goal. And that’s getting better every day. Every time we run onto the court we have the opportunity to get better. That’s what we’re trying to do.
“We’re really looking forward to our opportunity this year to compete for an OUA championship and a national championship.”