A spoiled seniors night: Gaels sweep Rams
(Last Updated On: February 26, 2023)
The Queen’s Gaels handed the Ryerson Rams their eighth loss of the season in a 3-0 sweep on Sunday night (26-24, 25-16, 25-21).
Outside hitter Xander Ketrzynski led the Rams in kills with eight and setter Saad Shaikh led in assists with 13 in the two sets he played.
The last time the Rams faced off against the Gaels was back on Jan. 24. The match ended in an identical sweep, as seen on Sunday on the Coca-Cola Court. Ryerson’s record against Queen’s now stands at 26 wins and 33 losses.
Throughout all three sets, the beginnings and outcomes were nearly identical. Ryerson would start slow, but their high energy offense and tremendous hustle would bring them to hold a steady lead, until the Gaels’ elite offense and equally skilled defense secured the victory for each set.
Despite the tough loss, Sunday night was Senior’s Night, a time to honour Ryerson’s graduating athletes. Ryerson’s honoured senior was Joel Hannan, an outside hitter finishing up his master’s degree in Business Administration.
“It was really nice to get to battle with all of my best friends one more time on the court,” Hannan said.
“Even when the game wasn’t going our way, I was still so happy to be out there with everyone,” he said. “I appreciate those opportunities to be in those tough moments and those fun moments. We all just love playing volleyball.”
Hannan also shared his thoughts on going into the OUA playoffs.
“Guelph’s a strong team,” he said. “I think what we’ll have on them is our defense.”
“We know them really well and I think we handle their serving quite well. It’ll just be a mentality game. That’s what it’ll really come down to: who wants to win it more.”
The Rams will face off against the Guelph Gryphons in the OUA Quarter Finals, on Feb. 29 at the Guelph Gryphons Athletic Centre.
