If the Nipissing Lakers women's volleyball team can play the way they did to close out the first half of the season, they should be able to find the win column more often in 2016.

The Lakers, who struggled with consistency in the first half, finished 2015 off with a five set win, followed by a five set loss, but played well enough to win both matches.

Hoping to build off of that, the Lakers will have their hands full to being the second semester of play, as they host the Ryerson Rams and Toronto Varsity Blues – teams that defeated Nipissing in November.

Toronto is undefeated and ranked number one in the province, while the Rams are 6-1 and in second place behind Toronto.

The Varsity Blues have lost just two sets so far this year, while Ryerson has just lost four, including three to Toronto for their only loss.

While Nipissing hasn't been able to score like they would have liked, their offence has seen positives and they do have a balanced attack, led by Erika Lapierre and Tracy Hammerton who both have over 60 kills and 80 points.

On the defensive side, the Lakers have been very strong since joining the OUA and continue their strong play in that area, but they are looking for a more consistent overall effort.

This weekend, the Lakers defense will be tested as they face the number one and three players in kills per set in the OUA.

The Rams enter the weekend on a three match winning streak and have lost just one set in that stretch.

Ryerson's lone loss of the season did come on the road, where they are just 2-1 so far this campaign.

Saturday, the undefeated Varsity Blues will be the opponent for the Lakers, who are looking to topple one of the OUA's top programs.

The Varsity Blues' only wrinkle in their otherwise perfect season was dropping a set to both RMC and Queens in back-to-back matches in October.

Since then, they have been flawless and of their eight total wins, six have been straight set wins.

Both the Rams and Varsity Blues bring a strong game both offensively and defensively, which will force the Lakers to be at the top of their game if they are going to pull off the upset.

The second half of the season kicks off this weekend, Friday at 5 p.m. versus the Rams and Saturday versus Toronto at noon – both at the RJS Athletic Centre.