The York Lions women's volleyball team took a close second set from the Ryerson Rams on Saturday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, but they were unable to steal any more games from the fourth-ranked team in the country as they fell 3-1.
 
The first set started evenly with the teams trading points in the early going. A kill from Lions outside hitter Celeste Witzell gave the Lions a 15-14 lead at the midway point of the set, but the two squads stayed close and were tied at 20-20 after an attack error by the Rams Sara Piana. From there the Rams took over for the remainder of the set and won five of the next six points to take the first set 25-21.
 
Unfazed, the Lions bounced back in the second set and won 27-25 to even the game at 1-1. The set was again extremely close, with the score staying within two points throughout the frame as the teams continued to one-up each other. In the third set the Lions jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but the Rams came back with six straight points and controlled the action the rest of the way to take the set 25-11.  
 
The Rams continued their momentum into the fourth set, maintaining a lead throughout the entire set and eventually winning 25-15, with the match-winning point coming by way of a kill by setter Lauren Wong.
 
Lions middle Aleksandra Steins led the team with 16 points and 11 kills, while Kayla Clennon was close behind with 12 points and ten kills. Setter Chiara Da Silva had 33 assists while Sarah Williams led the team with 12 digs. Cailin Wark led the Rams with 18.5 points while Wong had a strong game with 48 assists.
 
With the loss the Lions record sits at 5-4 and they are now tied for third with the Queen's Gaels in the OUA East Division. The Rams improve to 8-1 and they remain in first-place in the OUA East, now six points ahead of the Lions.
 
York will look to snap out of their current three-game losing skid next weekend when they host the Nipissing Lakers on Friday, Jan. 18 at the Tait McKenzie Centre. The Lions won the first matchup between the two squads by a score of 3-1 in the first game of the 2018-19 season. The action starts at 6pm.