By Naomi Low

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) women’s volleyball team closed out their 2025-26 season with a straight-sets 3-0 win, defeating the Royal Military College (RMC) Paladins on Saturday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. 

The victory marked the Bold’s fifth—and final—clean sweep of the regular season. However, despite their strong finish on home court, the Bold will narrowly miss the playoffs after the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees defeated the Nipissing University Lakers 3-1 earlier in the day. 

“Obviously, it’s not the outcome we would’ve liked in the end,” reflected third-year outside hitter Kaiya Krahn. “But I think we’ve definitely improved so much along the way. Our team has become so close; we have such a tight culture here. I love these girls with my whole heart—I wouldn’t want it any other way.” 

Krahn, who has been instrumental to the team’s offensive firepower this season, stepped up to record six kills in a dominant opening frame that the Bold claimed 25-19. 

Fellow third-year outside hitter Marta Cerovic also stood out early. At 18-8, she capped off a lengthy rally, one that nearly sent Krahn colliding with the back wall, with a clever lilt of a kill that landed directly in the middle of the court. Cerovic consolidated quickly, following up the play with another kill on the very next point. 

Cerovic finished the night with six kills, matching her career high. She, too, echoed Krahn’s fond reflections, speaking candidly about the team’s progression throughout the season. 

“I would rather have ended like this with this group of girls than anyone else in a different way…even score-wise or just group-wise, we’re so much tighter this year.” 

The second set featured closer proximity on the scoreboard but RMC struggled offensively. The Paladins posted a hitting percentage of -0.074, a considerable deficit compared to the Bold’s 0.267. The Bold also held the decisive edge in kills, tallying 14 to RMC’s five. 

Unable to shake inopportune errors in tight moments, the Bold struggled to generate a rhythm. But once they generated more time on the ball mid-way through the set, the momentum swung back in their favour. 

“I think it was just important for us to control the ball on our side of the court and limit our errors,” Krahn shared. 

The third and final set showcased one of the Bold’s most resilient performances of the season. Trailing 11-4, the Bold made a passionate comeback to the credit of Krahn, second-year middle Ayla Cross, second-year outside hitter Rian Lenarduzzi, and third-year outside hitter Darcie Buchanan, who helped tie the set 17-17 before closing out the match, 25-21. 

Head coach Dustin Reid praised his team’s composure in the match’s final stretch.

“I thought we handled the last 15 rallies really well,” Reid said. “You need to believe that you can win the next rally regardless of how the opponent is playing. That will be an important area of growth for the team if we want to contend in the top half of the league.” 

Despite falling just short of a playoff spot, Reid remained optimistic about the season, evaluating the year as a crucial one for rebuilding his squad. 

“It’s the type of season you don’t get to have all the time, where you can really focus on the growth of individual players and the team as a whole without the expectation of having to win or needing to win to show that we’re on the right track,” Reid shared.

Reid credited the Bold’s dominant performances against the Paladins over the weekend, taking it as a positive sign of what lies ahead for the team in the coming years.

“It’s a really rewarding thing to see the improvement in the players and just focusing every day on that, so really grateful for that…I think you saw in the last two days just how talented a group we have and how excited we are to get back to work.”