Bold win first set but fall to Lancers in Windsor

WINDSOR, Ont. – The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s volleyball team fell 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 20-25, 19-25) to the Windsor Lancers on Sunday afternoon at the Toldo Lancer Centre. 

After the Bold won the opening set, Windsor rattled off three consecutive set wins to secure the victory in the matinee matchup — a carbon copy of their matchup earlier this season. 

Scarlett Gingera led the way for the Bold with 15 kills and one block. On the other side, Emma Shepherd led the Lancers to victory with 13 kills of her own and was aided by Nicole Woelk’s 35 assists.  

In the opening frame, TMU capitalized on Windsor’s early mistakes. With a combined number of 12 service and attack errors for the Lancers, the Bold pulled away in the heart of the frame. Windsor found themselves back in it with a 4-1 run late to tie it at 23-23. Nonetheless, consecutive kills from Bethany Smith and Gingera respectively gave the Bold the set win. 

The second set was a back-and-forth affair as both sides traded blows and kept themselves within reaching distance of one another. However, following an 11-11 tie, the Lancers went on a 10-2 run as their offence caught fire. Despite responding with a 7-0 run late, the Bold’s deficit was too large to recover from and the Lancers took the frame 25-22. 
The following set featured much of the same as the two sides kept it close early before Windsor took a stranglehold of the momentum in the pivotal moments of the set leading to another set win — this time 25-20. 

Windsor rode the momentum into the fourth and final set as their play on both sides of the ball resulted in enough cushion to where the Bold could not respond and mount a comeback. With a 25-19 set win, the Lancers took the match 3-1 and swept the season series.  

Following the loss, TMU’s record drops to 11-9 as they sit in sixth place in the OUA conference — one spot ahead of the Lancers with a game in hand. The Bold could finish as high as fifth — a spot currently occupied by the Queen’s Gaels — or as low as eighth, but regardless, will feature in at least one playoff game later this month. 

The blue and gold are back in action on Friday as they look to snap their three-game skid against the McMaster Marauders at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. Earlier this season, the Bold took a 3-1 win over the Marauders  — handing them their first loss of the season. 

TMU will also be honouring their graduating players in their final regular season game as they will be celebrating Senior Night. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.