TORONTO ON A ROLL WITH FOUR STRAIGHT WINS

The Toronto Varsity Blues improved to 4-0 on the season with two decisive 3-0 wins over the RMC Paladins and Queen’s Golden Gaels this week. Melinda Lee had 13 kills and 13 digs for the Blues in their rout of the Paladins. Toronto took the first two games by scores of 25-9 and 25-13, before ending the match in the third with a 25-19 victory. Mila Miguel had 14 digs for the Blues, while Leah West had 16 for RMC. In the match with Queen’s, Toronto dominated, winning the three games by margins of 10, nine and 13 points. Miguel was a force again with a team-best 10 kills and 14 digs. The Blues are the only undefeated team in the OUA East and look to be focused on another OUA crown after Western spoiled their run of four straight championships last season.

After dropping their first two matches of the season, the Ryerson Rams are back to .500 with two wins, including a 3-1 decision over the Queen’s Golden Gaels and a similar 3-1 deafeat of the Paladins on Saturday. Ryerson had a balanced attack in a tight match against the Golden Gaels as Erin Gallagher, Jen Williams and Brianne Koning each produced 12 kills. Gallagher was all over the court, tallying 21 digs, as well. Amanda Digel led Queen’s with 20 kills. Gallagher had 14 kills and 17 digs, while fourth-year player Anjela Wilson kept the Rams in it with 33 digs in the four games.

The Waterloo Warriors improved to 2-1 with a hard-fought 3-2 win over the Windsor Lancers. Windsor took the first and fourth games, while the Warriors scratched out a 30-28 victory in the third game and another 27-25 win in the extended fifth game. Windsor had 61 kills to 49 for Waterloo but the Warriors defended well, getting 22 digs from Jenna Schroeder and another 18 from Amanda Verhoeve.

The defending champion Mustangs are 3-0 following a grueling 3-2 win over the Laurier Golden Hawks. Western was down 2-1 but rallied with two straight games, including a 19-17 score in the tight fifth game. Melissa Mann stood out for the Mustangs, registering a match-high 23 kills and a team-best 22 digs.

The McMaster Marauders defeated the Guelph Gryphons 3-0 Friday, while on Saturday, the York Lions beat the Ottawa Gee-Gees 3-1, Laurier swept the Windsor Lancers 3-0 and the Lakehead Thunderwolves picked up their first win in three tries with a 3-1 victory over the Brock Badgers. Melissa Merilainen had 14 kills for Lakehead, while five players had double-digit digs, including a team-high 18 from Lindsey Johnson. Kaila Wiley led Brock with 32 digs.