VERT & OR DOWN BLUES IN U SPORTS QUARTERFINAL

With the loss, the Blues move to the U SPORTS consolation semifinal vs. the hometown Manitoba Bisons. The game is set for Saturday, March 25, 3:30 p.m.

TORONTO STATS: Fourth-year outside hitter Mitchell Neuert and third-year left side Evan Falardeau led all Blues hitters with 12 points. Neuert recorded 11 kills and one block, while Faladeau had eight kills, three blocks and one ace.

Mikasa Top Performer: Davis Young held down the backcourt with six digs, while leading the Blues with 28 assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED: After a tightly contested battle leading into the first set technical timeout, the Blues were able to take the lead off of a Neuert kill before Jak Patterson’s block would double the lead and push Vert et Or head coach Mohamed El Fethi Abed into a late timeout. After the stoppage, Toronto would force back-to-back Vert et Or errors to claim the set 25-21.

In the second, the Blues went down 9-4 and were forced to call an early timeout. Pressure from the Vert et Or would continue, scoring eight unanswered points before Jonathan Portelance’s service error stuttered their momentum. The Blues looked to narrow the lead but would ultimately drop the second set 25-9.

After trading attacks in the opening minutes of the third set, the Vert et Or re-found their form, forcing Toronto into a timeout at 7-3 and then again at 9-3. The Vert et Or would enter the technical timeout with a 16-5 lead and end the third set with a score of 25-11.

The Blues kept things close in the fourth, with Sherbrooke entering the technical timeout with a narrow 16-13 lead. The Blues would call a timeout at 20-16 following back-to-back kills from Sherbrooke’s Zachary Holland. In the end, the Blues would drop the set 25-18.

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