By Daniel Carrero
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s volleyball team lost in five sets against the Guelph Gryphons in a highly contested matchup on Friday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
With the loss, the Bold now boast a 6-7 record, already accomplishing a better year than last season’s 5-15 record. Currently sitting ninth in the standings, the Bold will aim to find their form and secure a spot in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs.
“We are getting to the point of the season where we can’t really let games get away, especially when we start hot as we did,” said head coach Niko Rukavina. “So a lot of lessons to learn and we just gotta get better for tomorrow.”
The Bold hosted their Pride Night during the game, an event spearheaded by former player and current assistant coach Lhexen Rabit for which the team donned black TMU Bold pride shirts.
The first serve came later than expected as the main referee’s chair broke down at the MAC. Instead, a DIY chair was quickly put together with cushions, a wooden stand and a cooler all cranked together with tape.
Once the referee could oversee the game, the Bold set the tone for the first set with fourth-year outside hitter Jacob Walker serving as hard as possible. A few short rallies saw graduate right side Alex King and third-year outside hitter Riley Donovan score the first three points for the Bold.
Service mistakes became the theme for the rest of the night. With nine and seven service errors from Guelph and TMU respectively, both teams couldn’t build consistent momentum.
Donovan, who became a stellar offensive and defensive asset for the Bold, found a gap between Guelph’s blockers that allowed him to kill the ball consistently.
“Honestly, [Donovan] played an amazing game today and was one of our best players, so I was confident riding him with our offence,” said Rukavina.
Donovan finished the game with 17 kills, six digs and two solo blocks, along with a .311 per cent hit average.
With the score sitting at 24-22, Walker sent the ball over the Gryphons’ side of the court with a strong hit, gifting fifth-year right-side Alexander Odle a ball he couldn’t handle. He bumped the ball far enough for third-year libero Daniel Pickett to make a controlled pass to fourth-year left side Cameron Chadwick who ultimately couldn’t get it over the net, giving the Bold the set.
“We had them on the ropes in the first set. So how do we continue that effort throughout a five-set match or three-set match,” said Rukavina.
Guelph bounced back in the second set and learned from their mistakes, while the Bold mirrored the Gryphons’ service errors—reaching a game-high of 10 in the set. The Gryphons took advantage and led the set all the way until Walker killed the ball in the middle of the court and tied the game 15-15.
From there, as the Bold picked up their game, the teams traded points to push the score to 27-27.
The Gryphons ultimately gained the lead off the hand of second-year outside Cohen Martin who killed the ball twice consecutively to finish the set 29-27—tying the game 1-1.
The game just continued to get closer as back-and-forth action blended with the theme of the night—service errors. Three consecutive mistakes from Chadwick and Odle forced Guelph to call for a timeout with the score at 20-18 in favour of the Bold.
The timeout stopped the Bold’s momentum temporarily but with the score close at 22-20, third-year middle Zack Morden struggled to control a hit from Chadwick. The ball flew out of bounds but Walker saved it and sent it back to the Bold’s side of the court for Donovan to pass it over.
“We are getting to the point of the season where we can’t really let games get away, especially when we start hot as we did”
After a round of punches, Walker got rewarded for his efforts and killed the ball toward the wall, bringing the energy at the MAC to a high and finishing the set at 25-21.
With Walker feeling the momentum, he taunted some Guelph players and to begin the fourth set, he received a yellow card.
With the Gryphons settled to taunt Walker back with their play, they read TMU’s plays to perfection. They aimed to shoot the balls directly at Donovan, who had played without any rest and was visibly tired.
“I feel like we got a little predictable with what we were doing and gave them life,” said Rukavina. “It’s the OUA men’s volleyball, you can’t really give teams a chance. There are no weak teams.”
The Gryphons maintained their tactics and finished the set 25-22, pushing the game for a fifth set.
The Bold started strong with three consecutive points that forced Guelph to a timeout that proved effective. The Gryphons managed to gradually close down the gap and put themselves in the lead at 14-13.
At game point, Taylor Wenzel placed a set far enough from the net for Donovan to mistime his jump and hit the ball weak enough for Odle to block. Donovan couldn’t handle the rebound and fourth-year outside hitter Lyam Krapp couldn’t reach the ball as it hit the ground, handing the Bold a hard-fought five-set loss.
Donovan was visibly upset as soon as the ball touched the floor. With playoffs just around the corner, the Bold treats each game as final.
“All of these games coming up for us…they’re going to determine if we are in playoffs, where we are in the standings, all that stuff,” said Donovan. “Every game means a lot, which is why a game like this is a really tough loss.”
UP NEXT: The Bold will seek to bounce back to winning days in the second game of the doubleheader against the Guelph Gryphons on Jan. 25 at the MAC. First-serve flies at 3 p.m.
Leave a Reply