By Thomas Debost
Led by Xander Ketrzynski’s 19 kills, the Ryerson Rams men’s volleyball team were able to steal a tough one against a stingy York Lions squad. The Rams had to dig deep, but dug out an important five-set win against the Lions on Jan. 12 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
“We made little errors and they capitalized on them but once we got a little more head strong, that’s when we really took it to them,” said Ketrzynski post-game.
Quite like their female counterparts, the Rams came into this second half of the season having won their last two games, both on the road.
York, on the other hand have struggled this year. Still, they remain a dominant force on the offense, leading the OUA in both kills and assists per set and it showed throughout the matchup.
The first set was controlled entirely by the blue and gold, who went to take it 25-21.
When it came to the second set, York established their offense perfectly throughout. After the Rams stormed back from a 10-8 deficit, notably through great hits by Sean Shultis, the red and white went on to steal it 26-24.
Come the third act, York continued to dominate on the offensive end, while Ryerson appeared shaky trying to block the Lions’ powerful hits.
After leading all along the set, York went on to take it on a clear score of 25-16.
The Rams weren’t done yet. They managed to find the strength to fight back York’s consistent offense in order to level everything up at two apiece.
And so, the dreaded fifth and final set would decide it all.
“Well the best thing about volleyball is that we play three to five so we’re going to lose a lot of points but there’s always time to come back,” mentioned interim head coach Niko Rukavina after this thrilling matchup.
The Ryerson Rams did take their time but ended up pulling through 15-10 win in the fifth in order to win this all-Toronto matchup.
UP NEXT: The Rams welcome the Nipissing Lakers to the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Saturday, Jan. 19, scheduled for 2 p.m.
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