KINGSTON — The No. 3 Ryerson Rams fought back from a one-set deficit to defeat the Queen's Gaels 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-21) on Friday night at the Athletics and Recreation Centre in Kingston.

Brett Hagarty (Aurora, Ont.) headlined Ryerson's efforts against her former team, totaling 14 kills, 14 digs and five service aces through four sets.

The Rams got off to an early 10-6 lead in the first set, but a strategic timeout by Queen's head coach Ryan Ratushniak helped change the pace of the game for the Gaels. Queen's began to capitalize on Ryerson's service and attacking errors, all while first-year outside hitter Arielle Palermo exposed the Rams' struggles on the serve receive. Queen's eventually pulled ahead 16-11 at the technical timeout on a Palermo service run, but the Rams would square up the score at 19 with a run of their own. A few crucial errors by Ryerson's attack swung momentum by way of the home team, who eventually earned a 25-21 win in the first set. 

A clean effort in the second set saw the Rams scale back their errors and fight hard to even up the score at one. The Rams tallied 17 kills and just three errors on 32 attempts, attacking at an unprecedented .438 percent and emerging with a 25-19 win in the second to tie the match at one set apiece. Unfortunately for Ryerson, fourth year Lauren Veltman (Brampton, Ont.) would exit the match in the second set with an apparent ankle injury. 

First-year outside hitter Jasmine Rivest (Montreal, Que.) came into the game in the third set and immediately began to win points for the Rams. Rivest kicked off a crucial comeback at the 11-point mark for Ryerson, tallying back-to-back kills to tie the game approaching the technical timeout. On the back of Rivest's consistent attacking, the Rams would pull out a 25-21 lead in the third to pull ahead 2-1 in the match.  

Another tough set in the fourth saw the Rams pull ahead 16-8 at the technical, but the Gaels would fight hard to close the gap. Ryerson hovered at set point for three straight serves, but it was Rivest who sealed the deal with her ninth kill of the game to claim a 25-21 win for Ryerson in the fourth and a 3-1 victory in the match. 

Middle blocker Katelyn Grasman (Homoka, Ont.) tallied six total blocks in the win, while outside hitter Cailin Wark (Georgetown, Ont.) contributed 10 kills, 11 digs, three service aces and three block assists. Setter Lauren Wong (Scarborough, Ont.) totaled 35 assists and four digs through four sets. 

The Rams are set to return to the court Saturday evening against the RMC Paladins. First serve flies at 6:00 p.m. at the SAM Gymnasium in Kingston.