KINGSTON - The Ryerson Rams struggled to maintain any sort of lead in a challenging 3-0 (21-25, 20-25, 22-25) loss to the No. 7 Queen's Gaels on Friday night at the Athletics and Recreation Centre in Kingston.

As always, Ryerson's Xander Ketrzynski (Toronto) led the way with 17 kills through three sets. 

The Rams kept the first as close as possible and played their cleanest set of volleyball in the opening frame. The Rams totaled a match-high 13 kills and just four errors on 35 attempts, battling hard to gain an edge against the nationally-ranked Gaels. Queen's would pull away 24-18 near the end of the set, but several key rallies would fall by way of the Rams. The set was brought back within reach again at 24-21, but a service error secured a first set win for the Gaels. 

The second set saw unfortunately similar results. Ryerson pulled ahead 9-6 early on, but a 6-0 run by the Gaels saw the home team go up 12-9. Fourth-year outside hitter Taryq Sani (Scarborough, Ont.) came into the game just before the technical timeout in an attempt to inject some energy back into the Rams lineup, but the Gaels continued to prevail and took the second 25-20. 

Ryerson's struggles carried into the third set, but the visitors kept fighting and managed to keep Queen's in striking distance for most of the frame. The Gaels eventually pulled ahead by two after the technical and never conceded their lead despite a late push by the Rams. Queen's soon took the third 25-22 to secure a sweep over their closest division rivals. 

Rookie Alex King (Ottawa, Ont.) made his first OUA start in the loss to Queen's, while fellow freshman Derek Webster (Ottawa, Ont.) also cracked the starting six. King totalled three kills and the Rams' only service ace of the match, playing in three of three sets for the Rams. 

The team will return to action Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. against the RMC Paladins at the SAM Gymnasium in Kingston.