TORONTO – The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s volleyball team topped the Guelph Gryphons in a clean, three-set sweep Friday evening at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
The match puts the Bold at .500 after eight games against high-performing teams throughout the fall season, with the other three victories being tough fourth and fifth set wins. Friday’s win was the result of clear, confident dominance on the court by TMU, especially in the third set.
“We’ve talked a lot this week about how hard we’ve worked, with a tough schedule, we’ve really stuck together and battled,” head coach Dustin Reid said. “In the third, we didn’t sit back and wait for the other team to make mistakes, we asserted ourselves and put the pressure on.”
Sophomore setter Sarah Zonneveld attributes part of the team’s confidence to their learned experience, while outside hitter Scarlett Gingera said the added support from new veterans like Julie Moore have helped the younger players grow as well.
“Winning in three feels like we’ve proved that we’re ready and that we know what we’re doing, and it feels good,” Zonneveld said.
The first set saw the Bold getting off to an early lead, racking up points on a 7-3 run to start and maintaining the lead through to the end. They won the set 25-18, with Sarah Zonneveld adding 10 assists and Julie Moore with five points ahead of the second.
Back-and-forth points took up the first half of the second set, with longer rallies and TMU and Guelph going neck-and-neck with the lead. At 15-13 with the Bold leading by two and following a statement block by Ashley Ditchfield, the Gryphons called a timeout but were unable to come back. TMU won the second 25-18.
Traffic Jam ??
A BIG stuff forces the Gryphons to call a timeout. We lead by a pair!
The Bold stayed alert in the third/final set, establishing their dominance off the bat with a 12-4 run. The team led all the way through, taking the set 25-17 and the match.
Britney Veltman making the message VERY clear here in the third set???
At the end of the night, Zonneveld had 37 assists. Julie Moore and Scarlett Gingera also made an impact on offence with 12 and nine kills, respectively.
The team will face Guelph once again Saturday evening for their last match of the fall portion of the season.
Zonneveld and Gingera said that if the Bold focuses on their own program and plan as opposed to reacting to the Gryphons’ strategy, they’re confident about the team’s chances of winning the second match of the doubleheader.
“If we successfully execute our system and what we know we need to do, we’ll be good,” Gingera added.
First serve on Saturday flies at 6 p.m. at the MAC.
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