By Tristan Forde
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s volleyball team defeated the Waterloo Warriors in a sunburning five-set thriller on Friday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC), putting an end to their four-game losing streak.
During their northern trip to North Bay, Ont., the Bold were handed back-to-back losses by the Nipissing Lakers, who sit fifth in the Ontario University Athletics standings. Similarly, the Warriors came fresh off a five-loss streak after dropping a duel with the Windsor Lancers.
In a partnership event with the Toronto Metropolitan Students Union (TMSU), fans and staff alike came prepared for their tropical getaway with the Beach Night theme game. While the TMSU gave out ice cream sundaes and prizes and TMU’s Dance Pak team performed between sets, the Bold took the court—not the beach—for a Top Gun-style dog fight with the Warriors.
From the start of the game, it was clear the Bold were prepared to use a very different lineup from usual, with a few familiar faces found on the bench. Fourth-year outside hitter Jacob Walker sat for the first three sets, leading graduate right-side Alex King to move to the middle position instead of his usual role on the outside.
“[Walker and King] brought a different look for us in the fourth and fifth set,” said head coach Niko Rukavina.
Despite the Warriors taking first serve, the Bold swiftly took back the momentum, led by second-year setter Evan Moua going on a serving streak and fourth-year outside hitter Kai Higuchi cleaning up with blocks and party ball swings. The game was going smoothly for the Bold until the Warriors gathered their forces and readied their charge.
This young squadron of Warriors—composed of four first-years and six second-years—kept the first set neck-and-neck with the Bold. Both teams committed their fair share of service errors, keeping the game tight. Nevertheless, second-year outside hitter Daniel Nikashov consistently emerged as the Warriors’ champion, finding his way around the Bold block and their defences every time.
The Warriors went on to claim the first set 25-18, leaving the Bold caught in quicksand.
Trapped in a deadlock, each team was going point-for-point in the second set. Between errors and blocks, neither team was looking their best. At the middle point of the set, there was an injury scare for second-year Bold middle Day Westell, who subbed out for fourth-year middle Bobby Tang.
At that point, the Warriors thought they found their secret weapon in the connection between second-year setter Cohen Peters and fourth-year middle AJ Nichols. The duo would run their quick set and consistently find their way around the Bold block
The Warriors could not put a stop to the cast of falcons that swarmed them, as King stepped up in the middle position and played a key role in shutting down the visitor’s attack. The Bold managed to carry the momentum into the final stages of the second set, where they battled to a 26-24 win in the deuce.
“It was just a full-team effort, so really happy,” said Rukavina.
From there, the back-and-forth jousting match continued. King started the third set immediately with a powerful hit right directly at a Warrior’s head but the legion of Warriors came back with a plan and a vengeance. Second-year opposite hitter Nolan Reed shifted the momentum of the game in favour of the Warriors with a massive block on fourth-year outside hitter Lyam Krapp.
The Bold’s communication lines started to fall apart as they began to make a slew of errors. This allowed the Warriors to claim more turf on the beach and run with it. Following a series of poor defence and tight passes, Moua attempted a single-handed set to third-year Riley Donovan, though his mis-swing would grant the point to Waterloo.
Nikashov sniped a serve, hitting Higuchi’s back as he tried to get out of the way. Finally recovering from his mild injury, Westell returned to make an impact and put a strong dent in the 10-point gap the Bold had to fill.
“[Westell] sprained his ankle a few months ago,” said Rukavina, “I looked down the bench and saw Westell was ready to go so I put him back in.”
Westell led the Bold in blocks alongside King—each with three blocks. Both of them played a key role in taking out the Warriors’ strongest weapons.
Even with the effort they put in, the Warriors pushed onward, gaining momentum and taking the third set 19-25.
In the fourth, familiar faces returned to the court, with Tang and Walker—who was recovering from an illness earlier in the week—joining their teammates on the court.
“[Walker] is one of those athletes that can come in unprepared and still do a lot of damage for us,” said Rukavina.
The Warriors put their step forward and tried to end the game but on the contrary, the Bold were ready to take this game to a fifth set.
With Moua’s ability to read the block and Donovan’s powerful right arm, the Bold’s leading lineup put their foot on the gas and never let go.
The Bold took down the Warriors 25-19 in the fourth set.
“Three sets, four sets, five sets, doesn’t matter to me as long as we get the win,” said Rukavina. “It’s our home court advantage so we pride ourselves in the fifth set.”
Tensions were sky-high, and bloodlust took control of the sunny beach vibes as both teams were ready to put everything they had on the line to come home with the win.
The teams engaged in a point-for-point duel. Moua stepped up as one of the key factors in the set, with his serves pulling the Warriors out of system and taking out their strongest weapons. Still, the Bold’s errors managed to keep the Warriors within reach.
“[Moua] came in and brought a different look, he’s got a heavy spike serve,” said Rukavina. “The way he feels good in our gym, it really puts some damage on the opponent.”
An exciting fifth set came down to a close with a strong run at the net for TMU before a service error granted them a 15-12 victory. The Bold would leave as the champions of the beach, cruisin’ through an energetic high-five line featuring members of the Bold women’s volleyball team.
“The focus wasn’t about the score or standing, it’s about playing good high-level volleyball,” said Rukavina, “There were moments today that I was really proud of and moments where I felt we could improve.”
UP NEXT: The Bold return to the MAC for game two of the doubleheader against the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday. First serve flies at 2 p.m.
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