The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s volleyball team defeated the Nipissing Lakers in straight sets on Friday (Nov. 24) evening at the Goldring Centre Kimel Family Field House.
Set scores in the match were 15-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-15, 15-11.
After falling in the first set 25-15, the Blues stormed back in the second set, narrowly beating the Lakers 25-21. While Nipissing took the third set, the Blues momentum started to build, and Toronto stormed into the fourth set taking an early 10-4 lead before making their second comeback to win the set 25-15. With momentum on their side, the blue and white took the fifth set 15-11.
Third-year outside hitter Julia Murmann led the Blues offence with a career-high 27 points. The Toronto, Ont. native recorded 25 kills, one service ace and two block assists. Fellow outside hitter Olivia Zhu finished the game with 17 kills and two service aces for 19 points. The two outside hitters combined for 41 of the Blues 59 kills in the contest.
Leading the way for the Blues in the contest was third-year outside hitter Hunter Arulpragasam who recorded a game-high 19.5 points, with 19 kills and one block assist. Sitting just behind him was Jayden Talsma who finished the contest with 17 points, with 11 kills and four service aces. The two outside hitters combined for 30 of the Blues 43 kills.
Setting up the Blues offence tonight was setter Robin Melnick who had a game-high 40 assists. Murmann and Zhu also pitched in defensively picking up 16 and 15 digs respectively.
The Lakers were led by Paige Owen who recorded 17 kills and one solo block for 18 points. Logan Garvey finished the game with 36 assists and 18 digs.
The Blues hit the court once again on Saturday (Nov. 25) evening at Goldring Centre in a rematch against the Nipissing Lakers. First serve is set for 6 p.m. Tickets for the game can be purchased at varsityblues.ca/tickets, while all the action can also be caught online via oua.tv.