The York Lions men’s volleyball team continues its seven-game home stand this weekend when the squad plays host to the No. 6-ranked and undefeated Ryerson Rams on Saturday afternoon at the Tait McKenzie Centre. The contest is scheduled for a 2pm start.
At 10-0, Ryerson is the only undefeated team in the Ontario University Athletics loop. The Rams feature the top scorer in Canadian Interunivesity Sport in Ryan Vandenburg, the two-time reigning OUA MVP. This will be the teams’ first regular-season meeting since last year when Ryerson eliminated York in the OUA semifinal. Last week, the Lions extended their win streak to three games after defeating Waterloo and Laurier at home.
The Lions women’s volleyball squad also play host to Ryerson this weekend as they look to rebound from an away loss to Ottawa last week. The Lions have won two straight at home and swept the Rams last season with a pair of 3-0 victories.
The basketball teams return home this weekend for a pair of games at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Friday and Saturday evening. The women’s squad kicks things off on Friday night at 6pm when they play host to the Windsor Lancers, followed by the men’s game at 8pm. On Saturday, the Western Mustangs pay a visit to Tait, with tip-off scheduled for 6pm in the women’s game and 8pm for the men.
Last week, the women’s basketball team split two games, defeating the Lakehead Thunderwolves 60-57 before falling 70-53 against the No. 1-ranked McMaster Marauders. Fifth-year centre Sarah Brodie (right) had an outstanding weekend, leading the Lions to victory in Thunder Bay after recording 21 points and seven rebounds. The following day, Brodie posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards in the loss to McMaster. For her efforts, the veteran hoops player was named this week’s Female Athlete of the Week.
For the men’s basketball team, Rohan Steen (left), this week’s Male Athlete of the Week, helped lead the squad to a pair of victories over Lakehead and McMaster. After recording 15 points, five assists and four rebounds in a 97-71 win over the Thunderwolves, he followed that performance with a 26-point effort in an 82-65 victory over the Marauders.
The women’s and men’s hockey teams both began last week on winning notes, before dropping their final contests on the weekend. The women’s hockey Lions travelled to Kingston to tangle with the No. 5-ranked Queen’s Golden Gaels. Goaltender Melanie Quinn made 30 saves and Kaylee Black added a goal and an assist as the Lions upset the Gaels 3-2 in the opener of the weekend set. The following afternoon, Queen’s scored the first five goals of the game en route to a 6-1 victory. This week, the Lions continue their five-game road trip with games against Brock and Waterloo on Saturday and Sunday.
The men’s hockey team snapped a mini two-game slide in the first of two games last week, skating to a 5-1 victory over the visiting Brock Badgers. Five different scorers found the back of the net for the Lions, and netminder Kevin Druce made 34 saves in goal. Two days later, Tyler Harrison opened the scoring with a power play marker, but the No. 10-ranked Laurier Golden Hawks responded with the next four goals to post a 4-1 victory. This week, the Lions face their division-rival Guelph Gryphons in a home-and-home series. On Thursday, the team travels to Guelph, before returning to the Canlan Ice Sports arena at York for a 2pm rematch on home ice. The two teams currently sit tied for third in the OUA Mid West division.
The Lions swimming team returns to the pool this weekend when it travels to McMaster for a quad meet, where the squad will take on the host Marauders as well as the Brock Badgers and Guelph Gryphons. The last time the Lions competed was nearly a month ago, when the men’s team finished third and the women’s team fourth in a quad meet at Laurentian.
Water polo wrapped up its season last weekend at the OUA championships at Queen’s. On the women’s side, the squad came close to knocking off the top-ranked McMaster Marauders in the semifinal, eventually falling by a single goal, 7-6. In the bronze medal game, the team again fell just short, losing to the host Gaels 10-8.
On the men’s side, the Lions fell to the eventual champion Toronto Varsity Blues, 19-2, in the semifinal. On Sunday, Ryan Forde scored five times but it was not enough as the Carleton Ravens claimed OUA bronze with a 19-10 win.
Preceding the championship games, five Lions were named OUA all-stars and head coach Ross MacDonald was named OUA Coach of the Year in women’s water polo. Earning all-star nods for the women’s team were Julie Csikos, Karin Shortreed and Kara Knowles, while Jordan Duffield and Forde were named all-stars for the men.