By Emerson Williams
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s volleyball team secured a five-set win against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in their regular season home-opener on Thursday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
The victory continued the Bold’s winning streak after two three-set wins against Trent University last week.
“I think the most important thing is that we learn that if we can continue to keep pressure on our opponent, we can score points,” said head coach Dustin Reid, reflecting on the recent performance of his team. “[That theme] will hold true.”
Thursday’s game started off with a slow first set for the Bold. Fourth-year outside hitter Kylie Ferguson drew first blood with a sharp spike. Quickly, third-year Gee-Gees middle blocker Nicole Hildebrand pounced in for her own kill with a similar, high, deep swing of the ball.
First-year Bold middle Julia Breen responded with a clean kill, followed closely by another from fourth-year outside hitter Scarlett Gingera. Bold fourth-year libero Mary Rioflorido did some heavy lifting in the first as well, keeping the ball in play with two fast digs.
Still, the Gee-Gees were able to gain command of the court. Struggling to receive, a brief dry spell fell over the Bold as Ottawa took a 5-3 lead after several consecutive rallies.
Though struggling to respond, the Bold gained points from failed attacks by the Gee-Gees. A wound-up spike from Hildebrand left her with a handful of net, followed by a similar result for third-year outside hitter Audrey Odigie and an out-of-bounds tap of the ball from second-year outside hitter Camryn Giddens.
From there, it was back-and-forth attacking and service errors between the teams, though the Gee-Gees prevailed amidst the commotion, going up 17-12 before their first timeout. Rioflorido continued to keep the ball in play while fourth-year outside hitter Jia Lonardi gave dynamic serves, but the Gee-Gees’ Hildebrand decided to steal the show. At the tail-end of the first, Hildebrand scored three more kills of her own.
Bold graduate setter Jasmine Safar attempted to retaliate from the service line, setting up a kill for Lonardi and another from Breen. Losing some fire in the face of adversity, Safar closed off the set with a service error and the Gee-Gees pulled ahead 25-21.
Ottawa opened the scoring with a spike in the second set.
From there, the Bold made it their mission to keep the score as tight as possible, commencing a game of ‘follow the leader’ for the Gee-Gees. A blocked attack from Bold second-year outside hitter Kaiya Krahn fuelled Lonardi and first-year middle Ayla Cross’s next move, grabbing two more kills alike and a swift block as a pair.
First-year outside hitter Hannah Bellai was soon subbed in and shot up the net with an immediate block of the Gee-Gees’ Giddens. She would go on to score two powerful strikes, only shortly interrupted by a spike from Cross.
Bellai reflected on her mindset going into the second set after Ottawa’s strong start post-game.
“I wasn’t as aggressive as I wanted to be [in the first]. So, after getting subbed out, I was sitting on the bench and I was thinking ‘If I get the opportunity to come back in, I am going to go crazy,’” Bellai said. “When I got subbed back in, in the second and I got that block, I was just like ‘Oh, ya. It’s time.’ I got locked in.”
Third-year Gee-Gees middle blocker Christine Hachokake kept her team afloat offensively as the only player to score any kills. The Bold were simply hungrier, taking advantage of a window opened by a series of errors from the Gee-Gees with powerful swats at the ball from Lonardi and Bellai.
The Bold then fully took the wheel, scoring several back-to-back kills including Gingera’s first three of the game. The Gee-Gees trailed behind, gaining points mostly from Bold attack and service errors.
The second ended with a 25-14 win for the Bold, tying the game at one set apiece.
Lonardi completely turned the channel to the Bold show by the third. Following two attack errors and an ace, Lonardi put up the first point of the set for TMU with a swiping spike. But she wasn’t done yet. Narrowly, Lonardi found the corner of the Gee-Gees half of the court with another kill, keeping the team’s aggression at the net flowing.
Joining the spotlight once again was Bellai. A dig from the Gee-Gees couldn’t stop her signature spike. Rioflorido kept the Bold’s momentum flourishing with a steep, diving dig that sent her under the net, keeping the crew sharp for an attack error from the Gee-Gees. This play gave Bellai the encouragement to knock two more scoring spikes.
Cross and Gingera put heat on the Gee-Gees middle with two kills, while Odigie, Hachokake and third-year middle blocker Janae Mckay fired back with three of their own for Ottawa. With a little scoring help from Lonardi and Gingera, Bellai again made her mark on the court with five more kills, winning the third set 25-17.
Bellai spoke on this spurt of energy post-game.
“I like to have this Michael Jordan mindset…The Last Dance really inspired me,” said Bellai. “When it’s time to really focus in, I think about trying to be great and believing in myself.”
The Gee-Gees put up a fight in the fourth set. McKay opened the set with the first kill—a slapping spike into the middle of TMU’s court. The middle blocker took another kill after two errors from Bellai. Bold second-year middle Elise Pridmore responded with her first kill of the game—a deep swing of similar fashion.
Again,–the teams were neck-and-neck on the scoreboard as the fourth set wound up to an exciting finish. Lonardi, Bellai and Gingera kept the kill count on for the Bold, while Hildebrand and Odigie did for the Gee-Gees. At Ottawa’s first timeout of the set, the Bold were up 21-18.
The breather put some heat under Hildebrand and even with two timeouts from the Bold, the outside hitter secured three more kills as part of a 7-1 run for the visitors to close out the set. The Gee-Gees came away from the fourth with a second winning set at 25-22, tying the game once again.
The race to 15 in the fifth set took off with a ready TMU. A slap of the ball out of bounds from McKay got the Bold a head start, prompting a gritty dig from Safar and a deep kill from Lonardi. A spike from Bellai looked as if it was going out of bounds, only to be grazed by the Gee-Gees middle, securing another point for the Bold.
Odigie and Hildebrand read the room and got the Gee-Gees on the board. Rocketing the ball through the Bold blockers was Odigie, skimming the hands of Safar. Gee-Gees fourth-year setter Maxim Langevin directed the ball backwards to Odigie for another sneaky scoring spike. Then Hildebrand made an incredibly long strike, forcing Rioflorido into a long, skidding dive to no avail.
Bellai scored another signature spike, followed by a swift double block by Cross and Gingera. Gingera kept up her scoring contribution as well with her own take on a high swing.
With a side switch at Bold’s 8-4 lead, a powerful block from Cross and Safar gave the Bold a sharper edge. Hildebrand then sent the ball wide for the Bold to retain serve. Hachokake attempted to make up by thrusting a deep spike of her own but Gingera quickly quieted the celebration on the Gee-Gees bench with a swing of her own on the team’s far side.
The GeeGees climbed back to cut TMU’s lead to 13-9. Two kills from Odigie began the chase, but Bellai increased the heat when McKay failed to block her spike.
Though another kill from Odigie and an attack error from Lonardi put the Gee-Gees close to glory, the Bold came out on top with a finishing deep spike from Lonardi.
Reid credits his team’s energy and enthusiasm as a contributing factor to the five-set win.
“I can guarantee you that the players who aren’t playing, who are giving a ton of energy and emotion, are just as tired in an emotional and mental way now than anybody who’s on the floor,” Reid said.
UP NEXT: The Bold women’s volleyball team will play the Gee-Gees again on Nov. 8 at the MAC. First serve flies at 5 p.m.
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