By Sam Beaudoin
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) women’s volleyball team extended its winning streak to five games on Friday night with a straight sets victory over the Lakehead University Thunderwolves at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
The Bold took to the court at the MAC for the first time in the new year and continued its winning ways, improving to a 6-1 record at home this season.
“We’re really trying to chase a banner this season,” said third-year middle Ashley Ditchfield. “Just keeping that in mind has been the biggest factor in performing well.”
TMU entered tied for fifth in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) standings with a 7-4 record, while Lakehead entered riding a four-game losing streak sitting at 2-10.
TMU head coach Dustin Reid handed the coaching duties to his lead-assistant Brett Hagarty for the match, with Hagarty facing the program she coached last season.
“Lots of [emotions], I know that team so well even though I was just there for a year,” said Hagarty. “Although I’m very competitive and want TMU to win, I was happy to see that it was a competitive match and see them play well.”
Friday also marked the start of a new era for TMU, as the school debuted their brand new TMU Bold uniforms in front of their home faithful.
“In the change room before we are all talking about it,” said second-year setter Sarah Zonneveld. “It’s a new year, we’re representing the new rebrand…we wanted to push to show that we can represent our school well.”
The Thunderwolves came out as a team up to the challenge in the first set, exchanging points with the Bold in the early going.
TMU was able to establish and maintain a slight lead throughout the majority of the set, pulling away late after a number of Lakehead timeouts.
Second-year hitter Scarlett Gingera and Ditchfield each came up with a number of their combined 22 match kills and were too much to handle for the Thunderwolves, propelling the Bold to a 25-17 opening set victory.
“They don’t have the record to show for it but I think they’re a really strong team,” said Hagarty. “They’re not a team you can take lightly…They work hard and don’t make a lot of errors.”
The Bold showed no mercy to open up the second set, getting out to an early 9-3 lead. Gingera and Ditchfield kept up their dominance, each going on lengthy personal kill streaks in the set.
TMU continued to dictate the game with their strong net play throughout the set, maintaining a double-digit lead the entirety of the second set.
Despite a late 5-0 run from the Thunderwolves, the Bold were able to easily handle Lakehead and take the second set 25-15.
“Our team is really lucky, we have a really deep bench,” said Zonneveld. “Anyone who steps onto the court can do something really special…It’s a very special environment.”
The Thunderwolves carried their late second set momentum into the third, jumping out to an early 5-0 lead, forcing the Bold to burn an early timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Bold retook possession of the set battling back and taking a late lead with Ditchfield coming up with a number of her match high four blocks.
“We treat it like any other game,” said Ditchfield. “We know that they have a lot of energy so we know we have to stay up the whole time.”
In the final moments of the set, Zonneveld came up big for the Bold, dishing out a number of her season high 37 assists, helping the Bold take the final set 25-21.
The Bold will look for their sixth consecutive win Saturday night when they take on the Thunderwolves once more at the MAC.
“I think they’re gonna stay really disciplined on their blocking and serving,” said Ditchfield. “If we stick to our game plan I think it will go well for us.”
UP NEXT: The Bold are back in action Saturday night at the MAC. First serve flies at 6 p.m.
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