By Sam Beaudoin
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s volleyball team handed the McMaster University Marauders their first loss of the season in a thrilling four set victory on Friday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
The Marauders entered the match with an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) leading record of 4-0, while the Bold entered with a 1-2 record, as they looked to get back to the .500 mark on the season.
TMU came out strong in the first set, looking like a squad determined to hand McMaster its first loss.
“I’m really proud of the group, we played a great match,” said TMU head coach Dustin Reid. “To be able to come back at home against two really great teams and be able to string together some wins is gonna be a huge confidence booster for us.”
All aspects of the Bold’s game were sharp from the first serve, committing nearly no errors. In part due to their powerful and smartly placed serves, the Bold forced the Marauders into lots of out of system play.
As a result, McMaster was unable to set their hitters and were forced to send tips and free balls over the net. TMU benefitted from this, going on multiple 8-0 runs in the set before taking the first 25-18.
In her first year in the program after transferring from Dalhousie University, fifth-year Julie Moore was the star of the show for Bold in the match, including in the first set. The outside hitter did it all for TMU in the set, registering a handful of her team-high 18 kills in the match.
“I think I was just playing super confident, super aggressive,” said Moore. “I knew my team was there to cover me… just them doing their job allows me to play really aggressive.”
In the second set, McMaster looked like a completely different team. They were able to effectively return serves which allowed them to set their outside hitters and dominate TMU at the net for the first half of the set.
The Bold found its game in the back half of the set, turning a 17-7 deficit into an entertaining end of the set that brought the fans at the MAC to the edge of their seats.
Despite the late push from the Bold, McMaster was able to hold on to its lead and take the set 25-23.
“The way we formed a cohesion and a culture within the team, was one of the highlights of my coaching career,” said Reid on what makes his team special.
The third set very much resembled the second, with both teams piecing together an entertaining set of volleyball.
Both sides were unable to establish a big lead, with each team exchanging points throughout the entire set.
Moore continued to dominate in the third, coming up with a number of massive blocks, kills and digs preventing the Marauders from getting out to a big lead.
“I look up to her so much. She’s so supportive on the court,” said second-year hitter Gingera of her teammate. “She’s the one person I come to when I’m struggling, she’s such a good teammate.”
The final points of the set saw the teams exchange lethal kills. TMU was able to feed on the energy from the home crowd and pull out another tightly contested set, 25-23.
The fourth set appeared to be in the Marauders hands as they established a 23-17 lead. The match seemed to be destined for a fifth set.
However, the Bold had different plans.
“We kept our cool in that situation and made a couple of key plays to come back and win it, saving ourselves from playing another set.” said Reid.
A combination of McMaster errors and strong net play from the Bold mounted an improbable 8-0 run for TMU as they climbed all the way back to take the set 25-23, sending the spectators at the MAC into a frenzy.
“It’s huge for sure, they were undefeated going into this game, so a huge win for us,” said Moore. “Definitely will boost our confidence going into our next game.”
UP NEXT: The Bold hit the road and will play the University of Windsor Lancers on Sunday. First serve flies at 2 p.m.
Leave a Reply