TORONTO — The No. 2 Ryerson Rams made two jaw-dropping comebacks in a 3-1 (26-24, 26-24, 16-25, 25-21) victory over the York Lions on Saturday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto. 

Ryerson's Lauren Veltman (Brampton, Ont.) led the way with 14 kills, seven digs and five total blocks. Cailin Wark (Georgetown, Ont.) also totalled 15 kills and eight digs through four sets.  
The match began with a significant lead for the Lions who pulled ahead by five early. The Rams struggled on the serve-receive and failed to get their attack going; York would capitalize on Ryerson's early issues and pulled ahead 16-6 at the technical timeout. 

The comeback began on the strong serving of Lauren Wong (Scarborough, Ont.) and attacking of Brett Hagarty (Aurora, Ont.) to bring the set back within reach as York led 20-12. The Lions would tally three straight to pull ahead 23-12, but Ryerson would go on a 5-0 run of their own to bring the set within five. 

The Lions called a timeout and managed to hit set point at 24-17; it was at this point that the Rams would win nine straight points off the consistent serving of Mikayla Sherrifs (Calgary, Alta.) and error-free attacking and blocking of Veltman. The set would end with a 26-24 victory for the Rams whose 13-1 run after their mid-set timeout secured a 1-0 lead after a mind-blowing come back to open the match. 

"I didn't hesitate to sub in Mikayla [Sherrifs] … It's not easy to hit nine straight in our league given how aggressive people serve," says head coach Dustin Reid on his lineup decisions late in the set.

"Lauren [Veltman] also had tremendous energy and made some big plays at the right times to get our team feeling like we could win the set." 

The Lions would fight hard in the second set and again pulled ahead 10-5 at the start of the contest. York carried their five-point lead through to the technical and beyond, but another unmatched run by the Rams would square the game up at 20 on the heels of Wark's attacking and Wong's serving. A battle through to set point gave Wark the opportunity to seal the deal, and she did just that with a kill and a service ace to claim a 26-24 win in the second. 

The third set brought an even contest through to the technical. York pulled ahead 19-15 with an unmatched run after the break when error-ridden attacking halted the Rams' magnificent run. York pulled ahead and ultimately brought the game within one on a 25-16 win in the third. 

Ryerson's fourth-set play was their least chaotic of the match; the team gained a 16-12 edge at the technical and continued to dominate through to the end of the set. Ryerson's 25-21 win in the fourth solidified a hard-fought 3-1 win in the match for the Rams, tallying their 16th victory of the season and their eighth straight win. 

"We really trust each other and we really gelled over the course of the season, and it's all starting to come together like you saw today," says Wark on the team's resilience in the match.

Several Rams beyond Wark and Veltman found success in the matchup. Hagarty finished the game with 14 kills and a team-high 13 digs. Wong tallied 44 assists and two aces, while Jasmine Rivest (Montreal, Que.) totalled five kills, ten digs and five total blocks in four sets. 

The Rams will resume action next Sunday against the Queen's Gaels to wrap up their 2019-20 regular season campaign. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m. on the Coca-Cola Court in Toronto.