The Varsity Blues women’s volleyball team shut out the Ryerson Rams 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-19) on Sunday afternoon in Toronto.

Jennifer Neilson (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) led the Blues with eight kills, while rookie Denise Wooding had seven kills and four digs on the day.  Malena Rapaport controlled the ball well with 40 assists and 10 digs in the win.

The win lifts Toronto to a 9-3 record and puts them in second place, behind the York Lions (11-1) in the OUA standings.

"We had good contributions from everyone," said Varsity Blues head coach Kristine Drakich. "We did a good job of taking care of our side of the net today."

The squads traded points to begin the match, and after the Rams went up by a couple, Toronto responded with six straight points, including back-to-back kills by Rapaport, to take a 12-8 advantage.

The Blues continued to dominate, scoring two more points before Ryerson finally put a stop to the run. However, Toronto would still take a 16-10 lead into the technical timeout.

Rebecca Crosier and Shannon Rossall tallied three kills a-piece in the set, and the Blues would cruise to an opening set win.

Toronto took an early lead in the second on a couple more kills by Rapaport and an ace from Sarah Chapin.  The teams then traded runs, the Blues tallying three straight before the Rams put away four in a row including a kill from Emily Nicholishen (Whitby, Ont.). However, Toronto still held a six-point advantage at the technical break.

After an error by the Rams, Rapaport put home an ace to spread the lead to eight. The visitors took a stranglehold on the match by winning seven of the next eight points to win the set, while Ryerson could muster just two kills in the second.

After the opening 10 points of the third set, the teams were notched at 5-5. The Rams went on a 5-1 streak and took their first lead of the match since early in the first set. However, the Blues would bounce back, and the teams were even at 12-12 going into the second half of the set.

Toronto re-took the lead at the technical, going up 16-14. The Blues upped the lead to 20-16 on a kill by Crosier but the Rams could not overcome the deficit, as Neilson ended the contest by finding the open court with her eighth kill of the match.

The Varsity Blues return to action next Saturday, January 21 as they travel to Ottawa to take on the Gee-Gees. Game time is set for 2 p.m.

Source: Ryerson Rams