TORONTO – The Rams men’s volleyball team is hot on a nine-set win streak and through to the first round of playoffs, following Saturday night’s 3-0 victory against the RMC Paladins.
The win has secured home court advantage for the team, when they’ll play the Paladins again on Wednesday to kick off their postseason run.
“We’re very excited to play at home,” head coach Niko Rukavina said, “but we’re going to have to fine tune our block defence because RMC will come out knowing a little bit of our game.”
Overall though, Rukavina thought the team played well throughout all three sets, and staying consistent in keeping Saturday night’s rhythm will be a must going forward.
The first set was the closest. The Rams opened scoring with a kill from Jacob Walker, the start of a series of hard hits from Alex King, Kai Higuchi, and Walker.
Senior Sean Shultis also got a kill in after the technical timeout and the team took the first 25-22.
The second set saw more of the same energy as the Rams just kept pushing RMC. A statement block from Alex King and Kai Higuchi led the team into the technical timeout with a substantial lead.
The Rams won the set 25-18, and a confident tip from Shultis made the dominance look easy.
Playing in a shallower formation, tips and denials kept the ball far from the Rams side of the net in the third, and the team gained a lead that allowed room for a few errors throughout the final set.
“We’re finally coming together after a rough season,” Shultis said, reflecting on his last season with the Rams.
As the team’s senior, Shultis has taught the younger players to have fun on the court, but to “keep bringing the heat.”
“Volleyball is a very momentous game, and if you’re down and you show it, you’re going to start losing,” Shultis said. “It doesn’t matter how behind you are. Just keep the faith and celebrate real hard.”
The Rams will bring that faith forward on Wednesday for round one of OUA playoffs at home. Support the team by tuning in at OUA.tv or reserve/purchase tickets online.
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