TORONTO (February 23, 2020) - The Queen's Gaels (12-7) traveled to Toronto to visit the No.2 nationally-ranked Ryerson Rams (16-3) on the Rams on Sunday afternoon. The Gaels fought through a long match for a 3-2 set win against the Rams closing out the OUA regular season.
GAME FLOW
The Rams kicked off the first set with an ace, providing them with positive offensive momentum from the beginning of the set. The Gaels hustled on defence to circumvent the Rams attacks, keeping the set close in the early stages. The Rams early set ace was quickly rebutted by
Teah Cook. Cook completed a match total of five aces, and 11 kills, contributing to the Gaels sneaking past the 25-point mark first, securing the set 25-23.
The second set saw a continuation of the promising offence the Gaels set up in the first. With consecutive kills off the likes of Julia Wiecigroch, the Gaels maintained a strong lead throughout the second set. The Gaels continued to crack out aces, with serving aces from
Arielle Palermo and
Danielle Corrigan. The Gaels held onto their second set by a large margin 25-14.
The third set saw a swing of offensive dominance. Several offensive errors by the Gaels gave the Rams the leeway to take an early lead. The Rams hammered consecutive kills that the Gaels could not keep up with. Ryerson pushed the match into a fourth set taking the third set 25-15.
Again, the opening of the set saw several errors on the Gaels side of the net, giving the Rams an early advantage. The Gaels struggled offensively, while the Rams strength continued to be consistency while the ball was in their possession. Several serving errors by the Gaels contributed to the Rams winning the fourth set by an eleven-point margin 25-14.
With the sets tied up 2-2, this season finale saw a fifth set. Offensive errors for the Rams and an athletic showing from
Saffron van der Linde, who completed a match total of seven kills, gave the Gaels the edge they needed. The Gaels took the final set 15-13 with the final point coming off of a massive block.
MUST SEE
BY THE NUMBERS
13 - kills for
Julia Wiercigroch
14 - digs for
Vivian Zanutel
5 - aces for
Teah Cook
33 - assists for
Lauryn Colpitts
UP NEXT
The OUA quarter-final will take place Saturday February 29
th. Queen's finishes as the third place team in the East and will visit the second place West team the Western Mustangs next weekend. Stay tuned to gogaelsgo.com for more details.
