TORONTO — The No. 2 Ryerson Rams appeared to be in mid-season form as they fought to earn a 3-2 (25-21, 16-25, 27-25, 25-19, 15-13) win over the No. 4 Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto.

Fourth-year outside hitter Cailin Wark (Georgetown, Ont.) led the way for Ryerson with 12 kills and 18.0 points through five sets. 

Toronto would go on a significant run to open the first, capitalizing on the Rams' inability to side out on Alina Dormann's serves. Ryerson would find their footing soon after, though, tying the set at 16 just after the technical. Ryerson pulled ahead in the tail end of the set, fighting their way to a 25-21 win in the first and taking a 1-0 lead in the match. Ryerson's Kelly Schaefer (Uxbridge, Ont.) and Toronto's Dormann each led their team with five kills through the first set. 

Another Toronto run in the second set saw the visitors pull ahead with an 11-5 lead. The Rams struggled to reverse the momentum and continued to trail through the remainder of the set, dropping the second 25-16. 

The third saw a more even exchange of offensive pressure; the teams were neck-in-neck through the set, but it was the Rams who eventually emerged with a narrow 27-25 win to pull ahead 2-1 in the match. 

Toronto dominated play in the fourth, capitalizing on the Rams' defensive shortfalls and offensive errors. Ryerson would dish out six attacking errors in the second, third, and fourth sets, a feat that Rams head coach Dustin Reid says he found frustrating. 

"I'm not sure we outplayed Toronto a lot in those moments," says Reid on the error-ridden play. 

Toronto pulled out a 25-19 win in the fourth set, tying the game at two and sending the match into a decisive fifth and final set.

Toronto held a one or two-point lead through much of the set until two straight blocks put the Rams ahead 10-9. Rams rookie Jasmine Rivest (Montreal, Que.) came up big for the team in her OUA debut, making several key plays to earn two crucial points for the Rams in such a tight set. Rivest finished the game with four kills and two digs. 

Ryerson would pull out a 15-13 win in the fifth set, fighting their way to a 3-2 win over the fourth-ranked Varsity Blues. 

"It was a huge adrenaline rush, it's honestly the best feeling in the world," says Rivest. "We stayed disciplined in the front and back row when we had to, and it was nice to see our hard work pay off." 

"To have the ability to focus and stick together in the fifth set when we had a lead was great. If there was one takeaway from this match, it's that," adds Reid.

Middle blocker Ashley Ditchfield (Windsor, Ont.) also made her OUA debut in the win over Toronto, racking up two kills and two blocks. Schaefer finished the game with 12 kills and 13 digs, while Lindsay Kleuskens totalled 10 kills and two blocks. Setter Lauren Wong (Scarborough, Ont.) tallied 50 assists in the five-set thriller.

The Rams will return to action next Wednesday, October 30, taking on the York Lions at 8:00 p.m. at the Tait McKenzie Centre in Toronto.