The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s volleyball team beat the York Lions 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23) to claim the bronze medal on Friday (Mar. 10) night at the Goldring Centre for High-Performance Sport.
PLAYOFF PICTURE: With the win, the Blues have booked their ticket to Hamilton, as the top three teams from the OUA advance to the 2023 U SPORTS championship, March 17-19.
TORONTO STATS: The Blues were led by fourth-year left side Evan Falardeau who tallied 16 points. Falardeau finished the game with 12 kills and six digs. Just behind was outside hitter Mitchell Neuert with 15.5 points. The Toronto, Ont. native had 13 kills and a team-high 12 digs
Second-year setter Davis Young set up the Blues tonight with 33 assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Blues and Lions battled in the first set, exchanging multiple long rallies. Neither team would grab a large advantage at any point during the set, but the Blues came out victorious taking the set 25-22.
The second set shared a similar fate to the first, with both teams battling hard, but the Lions would come out and take an early 13-9 lead, including six straight points. But the Blues would make a comeback taking a 17-16 lead before winning the second set 25-23.
U of T and York went point-for-point in the third set, as the Blues looked to complete the sweep, while the Lions looked to keep the game alive. In the end, the Lions took the third set 25-23.
In the fourth set, the Blues and Lions continued to battle with the bronze medal and a spot on the nationals on the line. U of T would take the fourth set 25-23.