The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s volleyball team upset the No. 2 McMaster Marauders 3-1 (25-20, 27-25, 23-25, 25-20) on Sunday Evening (Feb. 19) at the Goldring Centre for High-Performance Sport.
The Blues finish their 2022-23 season in third place in the OUA standings with a record of 13-7.
PLAYOFF PICTURE: With the win, Toronto will host the Nipissing Lakers in the OUA quarter-final. The quarter-final will be held at Goldring Centre for High-Performance Sport on Feb. 25. First serve is set for 7 P.M.
TORONTO STATS: Fourth-year left side Evan Falardeau led all players with 23.5 points, through a game-high 19 kills. The Stratford, Ont. native added three aces, a solo block, and an assisted block in the win.
Outside hitter Mitchell Neuert followed with 18 points, tallying 17 kills and two assisted blocks.
Second-year setter Davis Young had a game-high 47 assists, while fourth-year libero Daniel Tudor recorded a game-high 11 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED: In a tightly contested match, the Blues and Marauders were nearly even through all four sets.
The first set looked to be anybody’s game. A four-point scoring run from the Marauders had the Hamilton-based team out to an early 7-4 lead. Before a four-point run from the Blues pulled the lead back in Toronto’s favour (16-15). With a comfortable lead at the end of the set, it was third-year Hayden Cavendar would seal the 25-20 set victory for the Blues.
The Blues looked poised for a repeat of the second set after coming out to an early 7-3 lead. However, the Marauders would battle back to lead the Blues, 21-18. Tied at 25-25 by way of a McMaster kill, the Blues were aided by two straight McMaster errors to take the second set 27-25.
The Marauders opened the third set with a three-point scoring run and held that lead well into the set. Tied at 20-20, another kill from Cavender would send the lead back to Toronto (21-20). Despite the Blues late lead, the Marauders would rally back taking the third set 25-23.
In the fourth set, a six-point scoring run gave the Blues an early lead (8-3). Building off this advantage, the Blues would extend their lead to seven points, peaking at 21-16. Ultimately, the Blues would see out the Marauders comeback ambitions taking the fourth set 25-20.