By Victoria Cha
Despite pushing their match to five sets, the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s volleyball team lost to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) on Friday night.
Despite securing a win against them during Thursday night’s regular season home-opener, the Gee-Gees showed a force the Bold couldn’t overtake, with the match ending 3-2 in the Gee-Gees’ favour.
“We have a lot of room to grow with the way that we play, with how we play as a team, with how our offense works, with how we can balance out our attackers a little more. We’re just not quite where we’d like to be,” said head coach Dustin Reid. “But I’m really encouraged that, bearing all of that stuff that was going to come eventually for us, we’re still battling.”
Back-and-forth exchanges in the first set gave both teams their first handful of points but powerful attacking attempts from the Gee-Gees that sent the ball out of bounds gave the Bold a 5-4 lead.
Their lead didn’t last long, however, as the Gee-Gees began showcasing greater strength both offensively and defensively. While the Bold found ways to match their opponents’ efforts, the Bold called a timeout after Ottawa pushed through to a 13-9 lead.
Coming out of their timeout, the Bold’s play showed a hardened face, allowing them to close the gap in the score. With kills from first-year outside hitter Hannah Bellai and second-year outside hitter Darcie Buchanan, the Gee-Gees lead was narrowed down to one point.
With the score at 17-16, a continuous stream of rallies kept the fight two-sided. Kills from Buchanan and second-year outside hitter Kaiya Krahn, a block by fourth-year outside hitter Scarlett Gingera and a service ace by Krahn brought the Bold a 20-19 lead.
From there, the Bold struggled receiving and allowed the Gee-Gees to go on a multiple point run. Despite numerous kills from Gingera, Ottawa ultimately took the set 26-24.
The Gee-Gees started the second set strong, with third-year middle Janae McKay and third-year outside hitter Nicole Hildebrand sending kills straight to the Bold court and giving the Gee-Gees a three-point lead.
While the Bold were able to score more points as the set progressed, so were the Gee-Gees. TheBold called for timeout at 8-4 after a handful of failed receives.
A service ace by Krahn tied the game 9-9, but a series of strong offensive plays from the Gee-Gees kept Ottawa ahead.
Down 15-12, the Bold took another timeout but couldn’t seem to recover. While Buchanan continued to be a force for her team, sending kills down the other side of the net, kills from Hildebrand went undefeated.
An attempted kill by Buchanan and a block from the Gee-Gees sent the ball down to the Bold’s side. They were unable to revive it, and Ottawa took the set 25-15.
“Obviously there’s going to be ups and downs, there’s no perfect game,” said Buchanan who showed consistent offensive effort for the team throughout their match.
With a more solid sense of determination, the third set changed the momentum of what seemed to be a losing match for the Bold.
Early kills by Bellai, Buchanan and graduate setter Jasmine Safar gave the Bold a 3-2 lead. The sub-in of first-year middle Rayanna Amos-Ross Fisher also brought the Bold a series of points.
Her kills and blocks brought the team to an 8-6 advantage. A service ace by Gingera and failed receives from the Gee-Gees kept the Bold up 12-8, forcing their opponents to call a timeout.
With a kill by McKay and a block by Hildebrand, Ottawa used the timeout effectively and tied the set to 13-13. Continuous plays brought the Gee-Gees trailing behind the Bold who persevered and kept the upper hand.
More kills by Amos-Ross Fisher led the Bold to their set-point at 24-19. The team saw victory shortly after, with an attacking error from the Gee-Gees bringing the set’s end to 25-19.
For Amos-Ross Fisher, being a reliable middle blocker for her team is her top priority.
“It’s all about always being there and always being ready. No matter if [I] get the ball set, it’s taking something away from the team and distracting the other side, really forcing myself to get off the net…and [call] something so at least [the team] can get a point even if I don’t get set,” said Amos-Ross Fisher.
The fourth set opened up with blocks by Buchanan and kills by Bellai. The Bold lead didn’t last long, as a turnaround in kill and block attempts gave the Gee-Gees an easy bout of points.
With both teams being just points behind each other, the Bold were able to find a lead once more.
Down 14-11, Ottawa called a timeout but were unable to change the fate of the set. The Bold charged ahead and didn’t let receiving failures set them back. More kills from Bellai and Buchanan brought the score to 24-21, before a net touch by the Gee-Gees led the Bold to their second set victory at 25-21.
A reliable offensive contributor for her team, Buchanan focuses on each individual point within a set rather than the overall score.
“We’re just pushing every single point and eventually it’s just going to rack up and get [us] to that fifth [set],” said Buchanan. “But just focusing on like, ‘Okay, what do I have to do to help the team out here?’ and just contributing how you can, when you can.”
Having pushed the match to a fifth and final set, a tip over the net by Amos-Ross Fisher gave the first point to the Bold. Attack attempts by the Gee-Gees that soared past the net and out of the court and a sharp cross shot by Gingera sustained the Bold’s lead.
McKay relieved the pressure off the Gee-Gees’ shoulders with a block and tied the set at 6-6. On the next point, TMU struggled to perform both on the front and back rows, turning the score around.
At 6-8, TMU called for a timeout but just couldn’t seem to get past the Gee-Gees’ two-point lead.
As both teams inched closer to the 15-point mark, desperation started to show on both sides of the court, with the two teams exhausting both of their timeouts. The Bold and the Gee-Gees traded punches, each taking several points but not mounting a lead.
Coming out of their timeout with the set at 14-14, the Bold failed to receive a hit from the Gee-Gees, sending their opponents to match-point.
Despite their extreme focus and efforts, and after a long and hard-fought battle, the Bold failed to block a Gee-Gees attack, ultimately losing the set 16-14 and ending the night with a final score of 3-2.
“To come back from a tough first set loss and being down 2-0 and to give ourselves a chance, I’m super proud of that,” said Reid. “We got a little bit distracted at the very end and made a few mistakes but with where our team’s at, I just can’t be more proud of how we came to battle.”
UP NEXT: The Bold will try to regain their winning streak against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Nov. 22 at Goldring Centre. First serve flies at 7:30 p.m.
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