TORONTO — After trailing 18-11 during the first set of the match, the Ryerson Rams came back to take a 3-0 (25-23, 25-10, 25-15) win against the RMC Paladins on Saturday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.

Team captain Theanna Vernon (Scarborough, Ont.) lead the Rams with 15 kills and nine blocks in the match, hitting at a .609 percent efficiency through three sets.

RMC opened the game with a strong first set, taking an 18-11 lead early in the match. The Rams were, uncharacteristically, scrambling to block and dig the Paladins' attacks for much of the first set.

Vernon tallied seven kills in the first set alone, helping keep her team alive early on. Ryerson fought back to take a 25-23 win in the first.

The Rams easily took the second set 25-10, but the Paladins weren't going down without a fight.

RMC trailed by three to four points for much of the third, doing whatever they could to prevent the sweep. Ryerson's Brett Hagarty (Aurora, Ont.) tallied three straight kills midway through the set, helping the team maintain momentum heading into the final points of the match.

“Consecutive kills always cause a momentum shift,” says Hagarty. “The team was fired up and I was happy to be a part of that.”

In the end, it was the Rams who prevailed with a 25-15 set win and a 3-0 match victory.

Hagarty and Sara Piana (Ottawa, Ont.) both had eight kills on the night, with Hagarty leading the team in digs (eight).

Rams head coach Dustin Ried says the team is ready to move forward and focus on their upcoming games after tallying two wins this weekend.

“By no means was it a great start for us tonight but RMC deserves credit for how they came out,” says Reid. “Now, we start preparing for Trent next weekend.”

The Rams will host the Trent Excalibur Friday, November 9; first serve flies at 6:00 PM on the Coca-Cola Court.