The Ryerson Rams suffered a pair of disappointing defeats in volleyball action against the York Lions Saturday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
The women’s team lost three-straight sets (25-23, 25-23, 25-22) to the unbeaten Lions, who will retain their position atop the OUA East standings.
“Against a team of that quality, we need to play with a certain amount of aggressiveness at important moments, and I’m not sure that we did that today,” said Rams head coach Dustin Reid.
“But it’s a great opportunity to test ourselves against the highest-ranked team in our conference,” he added. “I’m really happy with the way we fought and stayed together. But if we want to take the next step, we’ve got to learn what to do in those key moments.”
Emily Nicholishen led the Rams with 15 kills, but it wasn’t enough to steal the momentum from the Lions, who seemed to be in control throughout the match. Outside hitter Brandie Wilkerson led York with 13 kills.
With the defeat, the women’s Rams are 2-1 on the season.
Following the women’s game, the men took the court and quickly pulled ahead with a 2-0 set lead. It looked like they were going to cruise to a victory, but the York Lions, spurred on by Ray Szeto’s impressive 20-kill performance, were able to come back to win 15-13 in the fifth set.
“York’s a good team. It’s tough to put a good team away in three. But we gave them the third and fourth [sets], definitely a mental lapse,” said Ryerson’s Adam Anagnostopoulos following the game. “We just couldn’t close it out.”
Szeto was a sparkplug for the Lions, who dominated the third set and never looked back.
The men are now 1-1 for the season.
Both teams face off against Nipissing on Sunday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
David graduated from the Ryerson School of Journalism in 2014.