TORONTO – The TMU men’s volleyball team fell to the Western Mustangs on Saturday night, their second loss in two nights to the London-based squad. The four set (16-25, 21-25, 25-12, 18-25) loss moves the Bold to 5-8, as they continue to search for their first win of 2024.
In a similar start to last night’s contest, the Bold found themselves trailing in the first set early. Led by a similar starting lineup as last night’s contest, the Bold once again found early contributions from first-year Liam Cobb, who continues to earn time in the rotation behind a strong net-presence.
“The untapped potential is enormous,” said head coach Niko Rukavina. “The fact that he’s doing some of the things he’s doing as a first year is really exciting for our program.”
The Bold cleaned up many of the mistakes that plagued them in last night’s contest, forcing longer rallies and a more back and forth first set. Western, however, continued to hit at a high percentage, as they had the night previously. The Bold would draw as close as three points, before hitting and service errors helped contribute to an 8-4 Western run to end the set.
The second set told a similar story to the first, with the Bold falling behind and needing to play catch-up. The Mustangs continued to hit at a high percentage, and the Bold continued to serve at a low percentage, widening the gap between the two sides in the second set.
“When we’re behind, it’s really hard to come back in this sport,” said Rukavina
Kai Higuchi and Alex King helped stem the tide of the Mustangs’ momentum momentarily with effective hitting to mount a mini-rally for TMU. A subsequent Jacob Walker ace brought the Bold to within one, however, Western’s impressive hitting display punished Bold miscues and grew their set lead further. TMU would climb back into things, but the Mustangs would end the set with a back and forth exchange of points, giving them a commanding two sets to none lead.
The Bold had a new attitude entering the third, with a defiant Higuchi kill marking the first point of the set. A block by Cobb and King helped the Bold build an early lead, as TMU built momentum with each point.
“When we start with a couple points in a row and the lead we play with confidence and it just shows,” added Rukavina.
After the TMU attack forced an early Western timeout, the Bold kept up the pressure, building an eight point lead at 18-10. It was an incredible turnaround for the Bold after two sets where Western capitalized on miscues and won long rallies. The bounces were now going the Bold’s way, with Walker leading the offensive charge. The Bold would close out the set behind a strong service game from Taylor Wenzel, winning 25-12.
Looking to carry the momentum into the fourth set, TMU battled against a reinvigorated Western side. The Mustangs ran out to an early 6-3 advantage as they looked to close out the match. Long rallies defined the set, as both teams battled for each point.
Holding a 12-5 lead after a TMU timeout, Western’s hitting continued to operate at an efficient rate. The Bold would continue to battle, diving for balls and not conceding defeat. However, the Mustangs would pull away as the bounces began to break back towards Western, as they had in the first two sets. The Mustangs would finish the final set with a 25-18 victory, finishing the resilient Bold off in four sets.
The Bold are back in action next Friday night from Peterborough, taking on the winless Trent Excalibur.
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