Rams lose first volleyball tournament game to Lions

Ryerson’s men’s volleyball team lost the first game of a three-day tournament to returning champions York University’s Lions.

Ryerson is hosting the the 17th Annual National Bank Invitational tournament at the Mattamy Athletic Centre all weekend.

The Ram were ultimately outlasted by the Lions in a five-set match with close scores (23-25, 25-22, 25-22, 16-25, 13-15).

The Rams put up a fight during the game, with a total of 12 blocks. They made only slightly more errors than the Lions, with 24 recorded against York’s 23. Ryerson also stayed in the games with six aces, direct points from serves.

“It’s always a game about bragging rights.” says Rams head coach Mirek Porosa. “There is some animosity, but it’s a friendly animosity.”

Last year, the Rams lost in the finals at the hands of the Lions 3-1.

Ryerson faces the University of Western Ontario Mustangs Saturday at noon.

The original article can be found in The Ryersonian.

Rams tame Lions at provincial volleyball tournament

The men’s volleyball team cashed in its home court advantage on the weekend and took the championship at a preseason tournament against three other Ontario universities.

Ryerson hosted the York University Lions, Queen’s University Gaels and Western University Mustangs at the 17^th Annual National Bank Invitational Volleyball tournament at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.

The Rams started off slow, losing their first game to the Lions, but rallied to beat everyone else they faced on the court, winning tournament gold in their second match against the Lions.

After losing 3-2 to the Lions in the tournament opener, the Rams took a break and came back strong against the Gaels. Queen’s put up a fight, winning the second set of four and driving the score up for the fourth—but they were no match for the Ram’s who won the game 3-1 (25-14, 17-25, 25-15, 31-29.)

Ryerson brought a winning attitude to their game against the Mustangs on Saturday. The Rams won the first two sets 25-23 and 25-22. Coach Mirek Porosa watched the first two sets from the balcony, and left the coaching to the rest of his staff.

During the third set, Ryerson’s team appeared to get a little too relaxed with its lead, and let the Mustangs come back with a win (22-25.) The Rams didn’t make that mistake in the fourth again, and ended up dominating Western 25-17, winning the overall game 3-1.

Queen’s Gaels got a second chance at beating the Rams in the semifinal game where the two were again matched up.  Once again however, the Gaels failed to better Ryerson, again losing in a 3-1 game (27-25, 25-17, 17-25, 25-16).

Ryerson ended up in the final match against the Lions again on Sunday. This time, the Rams held their own against their opponents to come out on top.

The match went into four sets, the majority of which went over the standard 25 points because of how close the scores were (28-30, 26-24, 25-18, 26-24). The Lions shook the Rams confidence by taking the first set and presenting a strong front against the home team. Ryerson countered by not giving up any other sets to win the championship title.

The Rams’ will play their first regular season game on October 18^th against the University of Toronto at 8:30 p.m. at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.

Original article can be found in The Ryersonian.

Women get the short end of the stick

When women’s hockey player Melissa Wronzberg laces up her skates for a game, it’s usually hours before her male counterparts, thanks to Ryerson’s scheduling, which gives men’s teams prime times on the rink and field.

While the men’s hockey team usually plays games at 7 or 7:30 p.m., when more people are available to attend games, the women’s team gets stuck playing right in the middle of the day, usually 1 or 2 p.m.

And it’s not just the women’s hockey team being shafted. The women’s volleyball and soccer teams both play regularly during the day, while the men hit the court and field hours later.

According to Ontario University Athletics executive director Bryan Crawford, women play before men because of their market value.

Simply put, more people come out to watch men’s sports teams.

Wronzberg says she is aware of the imbalance.

“I presume the women play before because they’re hoping that people will come watch the end of the women’s game before they watch the men’s game,” she said.
“It may work for basketball where they play one after another, but for hockey, there’s such a big gap between I don’t think that anyone ever would be that early.”

She says that most of the female fanbase consists of excited parents and dedicated friends, provided they don’t have classes to be at.

Ryan McKenna, a sports broadcaster with the Ryerson Rams, agrees many of the fans that come to women’s games come near the end, and only to grab their seats for the men’s game right after.

Although it is common for women’s teams to play before men’s teams, some female athletes find it detrimental to their play to have games so early.

Earlier games means athletes are more likely to lose sleep and miss class, said Wronzberg.

“I like having a few meals before my game. Earlier playing times throw me off a little because I have to make sure I wake up early enough so I can eat breakfast and lunch in pretty much two or three hours because preparing for a game, especially hockey, you need to have a lot of nutrition.”

Nick Asquini, the varsity operations co-ordinator for Ryerson, says that although there is no plan to put the women’s games earlier, if that’s what the fans want, that’s what they’ll eventually get.

Original article found in The Ryersonian.