By Todd Ash-Duah
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s volleyball team fell to the Nipissing Lakers in straight sets on Jan. 26 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
Coming off a tough loss last week in which they lost in straight sets to the McMaster Marauders, the Bold dropped their third straight game to the Lakers dating back to the 2021-22 season.
“They played well,” said TMU interim head coach Niko Rukavina. “It’s tough to come into our gym, especially coming from North Bay [and get a win].”
Nipissing, seeking their third win of the season, came into this game with an aggressive mindset. The visitors took an early 6-1 lead in the first set, forcing the Bold to call a timeout just minutes into the action. Fourth-year outside hitter Tyrus Cuculick led the way for the Lakers with three kills in the early going.
The Bold attempted to establish some sort of rhythm out of the timeout but were unsuccessful, as they committed 11 attack and block errors combined. The home side’s hitting percentage was just .029 per cent, compared to Nipissing’s blistering .462 mark. This was the story of the first set as Nipissing took the period of action convincingly with a score of 25-13.
This continued TMU’s struggles to begin games as it marked the fifth time in the last seven games that the Bold dropped the first set.
“I think it was more about our side of the net and how many errors we committed,” said Rukavina when asked about the team’s slow start. “I think that was the thing that [really] got us.”
The second set began with neither team gaining traction from the other as they traded punches with each other. Third-year Bold outside hitter Jacob Walker launched a vicious kill to tie the set at 14. However, this was followed by three attack errors by TMU, forcing the home team to call another timeout with the Lakers taking a 17-14 lead.
The Bold came out of the timeout energized. TMU managed to cut Nipissing’s lead to just two, punctuated by a kill from their season-leading scorer, fourth-year right-side hitter Alex King.
“I think it was more about our side of the net and how many errors we committed”
Unfazed, the unyielding Lakers responded quickly. Kills by second-year Nipissing outside hitter Griffin Duncalfe and first-year middle hitter Justice Smith—sandwiched between a service ace by Smith—gave the road team the edge they needed to close out the second set to take a 2-0 lead.
“I think it was more on our side [with] the errors and decisions that we made,” said Rukavina.
A wild rally then ensued to begin the third set that left the crowd at the MAC in awe with both teams exchanging blows. The chaos was put to an end when third-year Bold middle hitter Bobby Tang committed an attack error, giving the Lakers a 6-5 lead.
Shortly after, Nipissing threatened to pull away in the set as they went on a 10-3 run, anchored by a kill from second-year Nipissing middle hitter Trent O’Brien and back-to-back kills from Cuculick.
TMU attempted to make a comeback as they went on a mini 3-0 run to cut the Lakers’ lead to four points.
Nevertheless, the Lakers countered by doing what they had done all night to that point—respond.
Cuculick would close out the Bold with a sizzling kill to snap Nipissing’s six-game losing streak.
With seven games remaining in the regular season, the Bold, now sitting at 4-9, want to change their recent ways in their push to qualify for the post-season.
“It’s fun to have doubleheaders,” said Rukavina. “We know that [crunch time] is heightened now at this juncture.”
UP NEXT: The Bold will look to bounce back against the Lakers tomorrow at the MAC. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m.
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