The Sports Gym at the Athletic Centre was packed for an exciting match on Saturday afternoon and the women’s volleyball team did not disappoint, as they topped the Ryerson Rams 3–0 (25–18, 25–17, 25–21).

The Blues beat RMC in their final game of the season, placing them first in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) for the first time in six seasons, giving them the chance to face the Rams to compete in the final four.

The Blues started off strong, jumping up 7–2 before Ryerson’s head coach Dustin Reid interrupted the flow with a timeout. The Blues were swinging hard and often on the Ryerson defense, led by Jennifer Neilson with six of her 14 points on the day. Most notable was the success of Toronto’s offense, as they ripped 17 kills of their 25 points. The first set went to U of T 25–18.

The second set was frustrating for the Rams’ offense. U of T’s blocking took the spotlight, limiting Ryerson to only six kills on 19 total attacks. One run saw three consecutive U of T blocks fall into Ryerson’s territory. The Blues defense led the way to a 25–17 victory.

The Rams found some chemistry to start the third set, playing clean volleyball for a five point run. U of T head coach Kristine Drakich had seen enough, and called a timeout for the Blues to regroup. It seemed to help, as Neilson broke the ice with a tip over the RS blocker on the next play. The girls brought the game back to 6-6, forcing a Ryerson timeout. By the midway point, Ryerson had stuck with the Blues much better than the previous sets, only trailing 16–13. The boiling point of this match came with U of T leading 18–17, when a rally seemed to last an entire set, ending with a duel at the net won by the Rams to draw even.

With the score sitting at 24–21, a short rally led to a set going across to the power position, where Caleigh Cruickshank was gearing up for a smash to win the game. “I tried to focus on what I do every single time,” said Cruickshank.

“Every set is the same. It’s no different than the set before or one in practice two weeks ago,” Cruickshank added. She finished off the sweep of Ryerson with her fifth kill of the day. “It was the best feeling in the world. It was really worth it after working so hard every day.”

U of T will host the OUA women’s volleyball final four next weekend at the Athletic Centre.