The York University Lions men's volleyball team had a tremendous start to the season last fall and will look to continue that this weekend when the squad gets back to OUA action against the Queen's Gaels and RMC Paladins at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
 
The Match-up: York (6-1) vs. Queen's (4-3) and RMC (1-7)
 
Game Details
Queen's – Saturday, Jan. 13 @ 2pm, OUA.tv
RMC – Sunday, Jan. 14 @ 4pm, OUA.tv
 
Home/Away Records
York – 3-1 at home
Queen's – 1-2 on the road
RMC – 1-3 on the road
 
Current Streak
York – Won 3
Queen's – Lost 2
RMC – Lost 7
 
Last Meetings
The Lions and Gaels played a thriller earlier this season, a nail-biter that ended 3-2 in favour of the Lions. The third set went all the way to 31-29 before a winner was determined, and the fifth set stretched to 20-18 before the Lions pulled out the victory. The two squads also faced off at the Excalibur Classic last week, a match the Lions won 3-0. Overall, the Lions have won four straight meetings and, before that, Queen's won three straight.
 
The Paladins nearly earned their first victory over the Lions in program history in their first meeting earlier this year, taking the first two sets and holding a match point in the third set before the Lions came back to win the set 28-26 and go on to win the match. Since RMC joined the OUA for the 2004-05 season, the Lions have won 25 straight matches.
 
QUICK FACTS
 
York

• The Lions went 1-3 at the Excalibur Classic last week in the round robin and didn't advance to the medal round. Their lone win came over Queen's and they were defeated by Fanshawe, Windsor and eventual champion Dalhousie.
• Before the December break, the Lions won three straight matches to end November, straight-sets wins over Guelph and Trent and a five-set victory over Waterloo. They lost just once in regular-season matches, going down in four sets to Ryerson, the team they are tied with atop the OUA East standings.
• The Lions are one of the highest-scoring teams in the OUA, ranking second in the conference with 16.1 points per set, just behind nationally-ranked McMaster. They rank second with 12.03 kills per set and lead the OUA with 62 service aces.

 
Queen's

• The Gaels got off to a strong start to the year with four wins in their first five matches, but they lost their last two heading into the holiday break, falling in five sets to both Western and Windsor on the road.
• The Gaels went 1-3 at the Excalibur Classic last week, falling to Windsor, Dalhousie and York and earning a 3-2 win over Fanshawe.
• Like the Lions, the Gael are a high-scoring team and rank third in the OUA with 15.9 points scored per set. They lead the conference in kills per set (12.4) and are first in assists per set (11.43) and digs per set (11.00).
• As part of their weekend schedule, the Gaels will head to North Bay, Ont., on Sunday take on Nipissing.

 
RMC

• The Paladins won their first match of the season, sweeping Trent in straight sets, but have since lost seven in a row. They pushed the Lions to five sets and took one set off of both Queen's and Windsor, and their other four matches ended in 3-0 losses.
• The Paladins are one of the lowest-scoring teams in the OUA, ranking 12^th of 13 squads with 12.4 points per set.
• Prior to coming to York on Sunday, the Paladins will be in North Bay, Ont., to face Nipissing on Saturday afternoon.

 
PLAYERS TO WATCH
 
York
 
OH Andrew Shotbolt – Leads the Lions and ranks 14^th in the OUA with 3.3 points per set. He is first in service aces (20) and 22^nd in kills per set (2.37).
 
LIB – Jules Muhawe – The starting libero ranks sixth in the OUA with 2.19 digs per set.
 
Queen's
 
OH Markus Trence – Leads the OUA with 5.5 points per game, nearly a full point more than any other player in the conference. He is first in kills per set (4.7) and tied for seventh in service aces (10) and 10^th in blocks per set (0.83).
 
S Zane Grossinger – Tied for third in the OUA with 9.8 assists per set. He's also recorded 61 digs and 13 blocks, among the highest totals among setters in the conference.
 
RMC
 
OH Dale Towe – The Paladins' leading scorer is eighth in OUA scoring with 3.8 points per set. He ranks eighth in kills per set (3.25) and 15^th in digs per set (1.75).
 
S David Hamilton – Ranks 11^th in the OUA with 6.79 assists per set. He is also second with 15 service aces.