This past weekend, during a road trip to Toronto to take on the Toronto Varsity Blues and Ryerson Rams, the Nipissing Lakers men's volleyball team ran into their first real speed bump of the season.

It wasn't their first loss, but it is their first losing streak which is no cause for panic, but the team, led by head coach Eric Yung is looking to stop the streak before it gets out of hand.

They'll have their chance this weekend with another road trip, this time, to Guelph to face the Gryphons and to York to take on the Lions.

Thanks back-to-back wins, the two losses this past weekend didn't have a huge impact in the standing, as the Lakers sit with a 4-5 record, good for seventh in the division, just six points out of second place.

If there has been part of the game the Lakers would like to change, it's their play on the road which has them with just a 1-3 record. And this weekend is a perfect time to remedy that.

In tight matches – five setters – the Lakers are 1-2, defeating Waterloo on the road, but losing to both Windsor and Queens at home.

York and Guelph, the Lakers two opponents this weekend, are in a log-jam in the OUA.

While the Lakers are just six points out of first, they are also only eight points up on RMC, who sits at the bottom of the division. And in between, there are four teams – Guelph and York being two of them.

Much like last year, the Lakers are led offensively by Cameron Branch who is second in the OUA with 139 kills through nine matches.

Lyndon Sonego is providing strong secondary offence, sitting 13th in the league with 87 kills.

The same two players also rank in the top 20 in service aces.

Guelph has had a tough year, sporting a 2-6 record through eight matches with two of those losses coming in five-setters – one against Western and one versus York.

They are, however, coming off a win over RMC in their latest match which salvaged a weekend split in Kingston.

York is 5-5 so far and they're also coming off a victory in their last action.

The Lions have truly been up and down all year, winning their first two matches, losing two in a row after that and basically rotating between wins and losses the rest of the way.

The Lions big weapon is Arthur Szwarc who is just behind Branch in total kills so far this season.

While Branch and Sonego gets most of the fan-fare because of their kills, the Lakers in fact have a player in the top five of the league's eight major stats.

Mike Ballagh is second in total digs and fifth in digs per set and Jack Peckham is third in blocks per set, as the two join their teammates on the leader board.

Offensively and defensively, the Lakers are well-balanced and are looking to make some noise this weekend and get back in the win column starting Saturday with a matchup against Guelph, before heading to York for their match Sunday afternoon.