By Eliza Nwaesei
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s volleyball team lost in four sets to close out a back-to-back matchup against the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
The Bold break their lose-win pattern—losing the first game of their double-header game and winning the second—in their battle against the Gryphons. After a 3-2 loss on Friday night, the Bold came in strong in their second game but couldn’t seem to learn from their mistakes.
“I think today I really learned an important lesson on not just… being able to continue being resilient and aggressive in clutch situations, but also really trying to take care of our bodies, to make sure we don’t see fatigue on the second day,” said graduate middle blocker Bobby Tang.
TMU kicked off the first set on the wrong foot as fourth-year outside hitter Jacob Walker hit the ball out of bounds. The Bold struggled to pick up a slew of strong attacks from the Gryphons, while fourth-year setter Taylor Wenzel couldn’t quite find the right hands in the right places.
The Bold eventually found their footing in the set. With a double block from Wenzel and Tang shortly followed by a swing from Walker, the Bold caught up and tied up the set at 12-12. Tang, who came into the Bold lineup for the first time since Nov. 23, 2024, due to injury, struck a chord with his capabilities at the net.
For Tang the role of a middle blocker is about reading how the ball is sent to the setter’s hands, reading how high it is or how fast it is.
The Gryphons seemed to lose momentum in the set around that point, with the Bold delivering hard hits that the visitors had trouble receiving. Fourth-year Gryphons right side Jacob Schweyer held on and prolonged the end of the set but a spin serve from Walker resulted in a free ball from fourth-year Gryphon left side Cameron Chadwick. From there, a party-ball swing from Walker led the Bold to end the set 25-18.
The second set started off with service errors in succession. With the first set loss, the Gryphons changed things up, starting a game of cat and mouse in points. With strong hits from both Walker and second-year Gryphon outside hitter Cohen Martin, Guelph trailed steadily behind TMU.
A level-headed Tang delivered back-to-back service aces, drawing cheers and raising the confidence level of his team bringing TMU 2 points ahead at 8-6.
“I think it comes down to really trying to provide cues about the present moment,” said Tang. “I see what rotation they’re in, who’s going to be the setter’s preferred target…and just really trying my best to establish some sort of dominance on the net.”
The second set signalled the beginning of errors from TMU and a step up from Guelph. A tip from Chadwick resulted in a scramble and a free ball that the Bold were unable to get over. Tipping became Guelph’s golden ticket to take the advantage. Chadwick tipped another ball that led to a blocking error from the Bold, allowing Guelph to pull ahead with a 20-19 lead and prompting TMU to call a timeout.
The timeout proved to be fruitless as the Bold still couldn’t find their footing and the Gryphons ultimately took the set by a score of 25-23.
“[I was] impressed with [Guelph] to be able to turn it around,” said Bold head coach Rukavina. “Winning one set is not the same as continuing it.”
Contrary to their hopes of turning things around, TMU trailed the whole of the third set. With the help of fifth-year right side Alexander Odle and his blocking ability, the Gryphons pulled ahead. Odle continued his prowess with a swing off of Walker’s hand sending the ball flying back and a power swing in front of King before the Bold middle could even get his hands together to receive the ball.
“Winning one set is not the same as continuing it”
Mid-way through the set, the Bold subbed in fourth-year outside hitter Kai Higuchi, who made a quick impact by hitting the ball off the block so it would go out of bounds. After last night’s five-set game, Rukavina understood that his squad was tired.
“I knew I was gonna get some bench guys in just for some fresh legs,” said Rukavina. “Higuchi did a great job coming in and providing a rest for some of the starters.”
Despite Higuchi’s appearance, the trajectory of the game did not change. With an uneventful third set full of out-of-bounds errors by TMU, Guelph took the set 25-13, shutting down TMU.
The common trend of the game—a back-and-forth—did not change for the fourth set. From service errors to great tips, swings and blocks the scoreboard saw a steady shift in alternating leads between the two teams.
The Gryphons eventually gained the lead off the hands of fourth-year middle blocker Joshua Glasbergen.
Glasbergen met a TMU swing with a stuff block, following a swing through the middle, finding a gap in the Bold’s defence. On the following point, Glasbergen, on a roll, dove for a dig that was then set for Martin, who hit it into the Bold zone and secured another point.
While the Gryphons had an 18-13 lead, the Bold did their best to catch up with big swings from Walker and King. Nevertheless, TMU wasn’t able to catch up, signalling a match point with a missed serve by Higuchi.
At match point, third-year setter/libero Daniel Pickett received a serve to allow third-year Gryphons middle blocker Nathan Peter to power swing down the ball. Bold outside hitter Riley Donovan couldn’t get to it in time, ending the set 25-21.
“We’re going to Nipissing, we’re going to be on the road so we’re going to have to come in pretty aggressive playing in their gym,” said Rukavina. “Every game from now on is a playoff game in our minds.”
NEXT UP: The Bold will play against the Nipissing Lakers on Jan. 31 at Robert J. Surtees Student Athletic Centre in North Bay, Ont. First-serve flies at 8 p.m.
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