TORONTO – Following a dominant first two sets, the Ryerson Rams men's volleyball team saw their cross-town rivals complete a three-set comeback as the University of Toronto defeated the Rams 3-2 (25-13, 25-12, 22-25, 23-25, 13-15) on Sunday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Ryerson was in complete control to start the match, allowing the Blues to just 13 and 12 points in the first and second sets, respectively. The third set proved to be the hardest to win, as Toronto rallied an improbable comeback over the No. 10 ranked team in the country.
Much of Ryerson's early success was due to the efficiency in their serving game. The Rams racked up five service aces in the first set and added three more in the second set. The strong serving caused the Blues all sorts of problems and they were unable to establish a rhythm on offence.
The third set began with a 5-1 Ryerson advantage, just as the first two sets did, and the Rams looked like a three set sweep was in the cards. Searching for a spark, Toronto coach John Barrett went to his bench and found one in Austin Valjas.
The Blues rallied to tie the set at 10-10 and the teams see-sawed back and forth from there on. Ryerson held a slim 16-15 advantage at the technical timeout but Toronto finally took the lead at 21-20 and was able to extend the match with a 25-22 set win.
In the fourth it was another strong start for the Rams but it was quickly tied at 8-8 by Toronto. Ryerson reestablished a 16-13 lead at the technical timeout but the lead was squandered as the Blues tied the game at 19-19 and then won the final part of the set to win 25-23 and force a fifth and deciding set.
Ryerson led 8-5 at the switch in the fifth but again the Blues erased the three point edge and tied the game at 9-9. Ryerson took a 12-11 lead after a Toronto attack error but the Rams then committed three errors of their own down the stretch and Toronto's William Colucci completed the comeback with a kill to give the Blues a 15-13 win.
“When you're in the lead and you're comfortable, it's easy to play with a lot of freedom and there's no better example than an aggressive serve. When the game is close and when your team doesn't have as much momentum, it's not as simple. That's a big challenge for our team – can we play in the tough moments like we play when we're up,” said head coach Dustin Reid following the match.
Toronto's Colucci finished with a team-high 16 kills to lead the Blues while Ryerson's Lucas Coleman had a game-high 23 kills in the losing effort.
The Rams fall to 10-4 on the season while Toronto moves to 8-6 on the year. Ryerson returns to the court on Friday, January 29 when they host the RMC Paladins at 8:00 p.m.
