By Tristan Forde
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) women’s volleyball team suffered a quick 3-0 defeat at the hands of the McMaster Marauders in their first game back at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) of 2025.
The Bold were looking to recover with a win after losing 3-0 and 3-1 in back-to-back losses to the Western Mustangs last weekend. Meanwhile, the surging Marauders aimed to add another win to their belt after their suspenseful 3-2 win over the Windsor Lancers on Jan 11. McMaster earned their third-straight victory, while the Bold lost their sixth straight.
“[McMaster] served and attacked us at a level that we couldn’t really compete with,” said head coach Dustin Reid.
The game kicked off with a deceiving float serve from second-year McMaster outside-hitter Olivia Julien, setting the stage for a showcase in serving by the Marauders. With the point, she now ranks second for service aces per set in the Ontario University Athletics.
“We allowed them to get so confident and aggressive from the serve line that it was really hard for anyone to pass,” said Reid.
The Bold had a difficult time on defence, struggling to pass the ball in-system and failing to initiate a proper offence. The Marauders, on the other hand, brought one of their best games. They had their backline covered by fifth-year outside hitter Emma McKinnon, leading the court with 11 digs.
A deafening silence filled the gym as the Bold’s channel of communication crumbled over the overwhelming Marauders offence led by fourth-year middle blocker Angelika Vidmar, who finished the game with eight kills. Her synchronization with fourth-year setter Chayse Victoria had the Bold blockers dizzy in circles.
“There was an element of frantic nature to how we played, and that doesn’t make it easy to communicate when you’re always thinking too much,” said Reid.
Amidst their difficult time catching their footing in the first and second sets, the Bold heavily relied on fourth-year outside hitter Scarlett Gingera, who recently hit the 500 career kill benchmark.
As soon as the score hit 5-10 in the opening set, TMU started to build momentum when Gingera ruptured through the block with a powerful hit. For the following point, the Calgary product put a halt to the Marauders showing early signs of a shift. As the game progressed, Gingera emerged as the only scoring option for the Bold.
TMU started depending heavily on the unforced errors of the Marauders and were failing to generate points from transitioning off of their own defence. McMaster took the opening frame 12-25.
Opening up the second set, Julien continued to tip the ball short, taking advantage of the Bold’s inability to cover the block, while Vidmar demonstrated her overwhelming intensity once again with a coordinated hit over the block. This combined with a monstrous party ball hit from Julien sent the large contingent of Marauders fans in the crowd into an uproar.
The second set ended 25-11 for the Marauders. This is the largest point gap the Bold have seen in a set since their final regular season game against the Marauders on Feb. 17, 2023.
As heads began to droop, morale started to drop from the Bold. With the game going in a downhill direction, Reid made the decision to bring in a different variety of players and give a rest to the starters for their next game.
“McMaster is a team that if you don’t really stay close with them then they’re gonna roll over you,” said Reid.
McKinnon also kept Bold graduate setter Jasmine Safar locked down, throwing up a block every time she attempted a stealthy dump over the net. To finish up the set, fourth-year outside hitter Maddy Lutes cemented her name in the gym with a power hit down the open line.
Unsure cheers from the fans followed the Bold as they entered the court for the third and final set. A mixed lineup of starters and benched players took to the floor as the Bold made one final attempt.
Their attempt proved fruitless as the Marauders finished the game and left the gym with another victory in their pocket.
“When things are going easy, you aren’t thinking and we weren’t doing that tonight,” said Reid.
UP NEXT: The Bold return to the MAC to re-play the McMaster Marauders on Jan. 18. First-set flies at 4 p.m.
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