Rams dominate Lions in four sets to maintain undefeated home record

By Thomas Debost

The Ryerson Rams women’s volleyball team dominated the York Lions in four sets on Jan. 12 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, maintaining their perfect 5-0 home record in the OUA this season.

“I told them that we were playing well, that York was also playing well,” said Rams Head coach Dustin Reid. “And credit to York, they were very consistent in the first two sets. But we weren’t ruffled by it.”

This was the first game back for both sides after the mid-season break.

The Ryerson Rams came into this game having won their last two back in November, against the same York Lions and Nipissing Lakers respectively. For the York Lions, they arrived with an impressive 3-1 record away from home in their first half of the year.  

Ryerson showed their experience and strong team chemistry early by pulling through to take the first set 25-21, fueled by multiple strong hits to establish themselves in the matchup.

The second act was another story. The Lions showed a grit and willingness on defence that helped them take an early 4-1 lead.

After that, the Rams managed to come back to make it a 7-7 tie. The whole set would remain extremely contested, until York managed to grind it out by the smallest of margins, 27-25.

Come the third outing, high on confidence and boosted by their hyper-active bench, York led 4-0 early before Ryerson got six straight points to regain a much needed lead.

The reigning national champions wanted to prove a point in this one. They dominated from start to finish and didn’t let York gain any kind of momentum heading into the fourth, taking it 25-11 and ending it on a monstrous hit by Sara Piana.

“We just had to keep our composure and play the way that we know we can”, said outside hitter Cailin Wark postgame after she broke her career-high records in both hits and kills this afternoon.  

In the end, the deciding fourth set was another one dominated by the Rams as they won the last and final set 25-15.

UP NEXT: The Rams will take on the Nipissing Lakers on Jan. 19. First serve is scheduled at 12 p.m.