TORONTO — The Ryerson men's volleyball team fell just short in the opening two sets, and it proved to be a hill too high to climb as they lost 3-1 (24-26, 27-29, 25-19, 18-25) against the No.9 Varsity Blues. 

The Rams started the game off strong, obtaining a 6-2 lead thanks to quick plays down the middle. The Rams went on to lead almost the entire set including a 23-20 advantage but came up short to drop the first set 24-26 with the Blues coming up big when it mattered most. The first set was an encouraging one for the Rams, however, showcasing promising team play and focused defensive plays.

The Blues had their turn to start strong, leading the entire way until the Rams found the lead at 19-18. Rams middle-blocker Navreet Suhan (Mississauga, Ont) had one of his strongest games of the season and helped the Rams claw their way back into the set. Suhan finished the match with four kills and four blocks without a single error. 

Coming out of the timeout at 19-18, the Blues once again started to convert late in sets and stole the second set winning 29-27. 

Fourth-year Blues setter Jordan Figuera, who leads the OUA in assists-per-set, was incredibly valuable for the Blues down the stretch. Figuera finished the match with 42 assists.

After a tight start to the third set, the Rams later took control of the bottom half of the set and took it convincingly winning 25-19. The Rams had just one error in the third compared to the Blues' six, which proved to be too many to win the third set. 

In the fourth, the Blues got going early and went up 16-11 at the technical timeout as the Rams found no answer for Blues outside hitter Jasper Neale. Toronto continued to dominate play as they wrapped up the match with a 25-18 set win. 

Xander Ketrzynski (Toronto) led the Rams in kills with 16 on 41 attempts, which demonstrates the impressive defensive display that the Blues had in the match. 

The final score is the same as their first meeting of the season, but the Rams kept things much closer this time around and were potentially just a few points away from a different final score. 
The Rams will be back on Saturday night at Coca-Cola Court to take on the Trent Excalibur. The game will begin at 8 p.m and available on OUA.tv.