By Victoria Cha
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s volleyball team lost to the University of Toronto (U of T) Varsity Blues in a riveting five-set match in their first pre-season home game at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) on Friday night.
The Bold have returned to their home court after competing in the Humber Tournament last weekend. In their battles against Humber College Hawks, Cégep Limoilou Titans, Western Mustangs and Fanshawe College Falcons, TMU went undefeated and won in straight sets in every game.
Despite winning gold at the tournament, the Bold couldn’t muster a victory against their Toronto rivals on Friday, with the game ending in a 3-2 loss.
The first set opened up with back-to-back rallies that had both teams scoring points. Kills by fourth-year outside hitters Jacob Walker and Kai Higuchi kept TMU closely behind the Blues but a series of mistakes from the Bold paired with kills by fourth-year U of T outside hitter Jayden Talsma kept the home side behind.
With the Blues taking the lead 15-13, the Bold were forced to call a timeout. Afterwards, kills by second-year outside hitter Liam Cobb and graduate student Alex King helped close the gap, but the set ultimately ended 25-21 in U of T’s favour.
Hard hits from U of T and failed receivers from the Bold at the start of the second set left the Bold trailing behind. They kept pushing however, as a series of rallies kept the teams within just a few points of each other.
The sub-in of graduate student Bobby Tang seemed to work in favour of the Bold, allowing them to finally get ahead of the Blues with a score of 16-15. With a final kill by Higuchi and a failed block from the Blues, the Bold took the set 25-20.
The third set saw a strong start for King and a back-to-back rally ending with a kill by Walker, giving the Bold the lead. However, as the set progressed a few communication errors by the team allowed the Blues to creep up the scoreboard and ultimately win 25-20.
Starting the fourth set, service aces by King and fourth-year setter Taylor Wenzel helped bring TMU to a 7-3 lead, forcing U of T to call a timeout. The huddle corrected some of the Varsity Blues’ mistakes, as kills from first-year middle Luka Minic and Talsma made up the difference.
Nevertheless, the Bold maintained momentum as the set continued. U of T called their second timeout down 17-13, but mistakes from the visitors and constant kills from the Bold brought TMU to equalize the game. Leading the entire set, the team tied the match 2-2 with a score of 25-21.
Pushing the match to a fifth and final set, the game saw its last series of thrilling affairs. While the Bold started strong, leading 6-3 and causing a Blues timeout, rallies ending with kills that kept the teams neck-and-neck had both of them calling timeouts as the set went on.
One final kill from U of T left the Bold with a force they couldn’t receive. After a hard-fought battle brought the game to multiple deuces, the Blues won the set 18-16, marking a final score of 3-2.
UP NEXT: The Bold continue their pre-season exhibition during their face-off against York University Lions on Oct. 10 at Tait McKenzie Centre. First-serve flies at 7:00 p.m.
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