TORONTO- In their first official home game since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rams Men's Volleyball team delivered a 3-0 win to their fans in straight sets over York. 

After a 30-minute delay to the original 5:00 PM start time, the Rams were charged up. A full house of supporters awaited the first serve as the home court bleachers grew louder and louder. 

The Rams faithful didn't have to wait long as a kill by Lucas Yang sent them into the first technical timeout up six points. Strong play at the net was capped off by a bullet of an ace by Alex King to award the Rams the set at 25-15. 

Yang continued to fly around the hardwood in the second set as play became much tighter. The Rams managed to nab a slim lead after a dazzling sequence where Derek Webster kept a ball in play for Jacob Walker. Walker was at the net again for an acrobatic kill to send the Rams up 16-12 at the second technical. 

The Rams only built from there, out-killing the Lions 16-6 in the second set to take it 25-19.

Yang soon passed the scoring torch to Walker, with the Rams' in-house announcer repeating his name like a broken record after each one of his many scoring plays. 

As the third set went on, York continued to be contained by the Rams, with Lhexen Rabit and Yang among those absorbing the Lions' attacks with skill. After taking a 16-9 lead into the third technical, Walker pelted back-to-back aces to pad their advantage. 

Late in the game, a smiling King delivered the final kill as the Rams took the final set 25-14. The squad proceeded to dance together on the court in celebration. 

"Honestly, it's awesome," said a grinning Walker post-game when discussing the Rams fans.  "I've never really kind of played in front of a group of fans that's been supporting our team. It was a good team win and the fans helped us out" added Walker, who led the team with 14 kills. 

Interim Head Coach Niko Rukavina also complimented tonight's fans. "It was like 600 days since our last home game in front of our home fans, which is just wild to me. We had a lot of friends and family show up for our guys." Despite the Rams' electric offence, Rukavina immediately commented on his team's defensive play. "I think our defense and our defense's transition to attack (was key). We focused on it a lot in practice and it showed in-game" he added.

"We've got a celebrity here" interjected Saad Shaikh as he tapped Yang before his post-game interview. Yang smiled, but downplayed his eight kills and skilled play throughout the game. "I thought we were really solid. We're firing on all cylinders. It's been two and a half years since we've been back here so it felt really good. We have a full crowd and they're really behind us" said Yang. 

The Rams are back in action on November 20th on the road against the U of T Varsity Blues. They will try to hold on to their momentum as they only return to home court in January 2022.