Excitement is in the air for the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s volleyball team as they are chomping at the bit to hit the court in the playoffs. The blue and gold punched their ticket to the postseason earlier this month for the ninth time in 10 seasons.
“A lot of excitement.” said assistant coach Brett Hagarty — who is filling in for the absent Dustin Reid due to an illness. “This is what you want out of the season.”
The Bold head into the grueling single-elimination format in the quest for the Quigley Cup on Saturday with their first opponent being the Waterloo Warriors.
The two sides never crossed paths in the regular season, but both have put in respectable records. The Warriors finished third in the conference with a 16-4 record led by the OUA’s kills-per-set leader Sarah Glynn, while the Bold finished sixth with a 12-8 record to their name.
“They’re going to be a tough team. They have played well all season and have earned their third spot in the rankings,” said Hagarty. “We expect to see a lot of outside hitting, a lot of big blocking, a lot of tough serving and hopefully we are ready for it.”
TMU capped off their regular season with a win over the McMaster Marauders on a night where they honoured their seniors. The Bold’s adversity was heavily tested in the matchup as after going up 2-0 they dropped two consecutive sets to the Marauders. In the decider, the Bold went down 14-11 before coming back to take it 16-14 to secure the victory.
Altogether, it was the perfect win to catapult them into the postseason.
“There’s been a lot of energy that’s been building up and carried through our win against [McMaster],” said Hagarty.
“We’ve been riding that high of momentum from that,” added Hagarty. “It’s helped us in all facets of our game.”
Despite facing a tough opponent in the Warriors in their opening playoff matchup, the Bold boast a deep squad of talent themselves. Second-year libero Mary Rioflorido leads the conference in digs and digs-per-set. Meanwhile, hitters Ashley Ditchfield and Scarlett Gingera rank among the best in blocks-per-set and kills-per-set respectively. The Bold also have the luxury of two setters in Sarah Zonneveld and Alicia Lam who are both in the top ten of assists-per-set.
“Just apply constant pressure and be able to minimize their runs to two, three,” said Hagarty on the keys to success for the Bold on Saturday.
A key contributor for the Bold this season has been outside hitter Julie Moore. However, the Halifax product missed the last seven games of the season. Moore still finished fifth in kills-per-set in her first season in the OUA — spending the last four with the Dalhousie Tigers in the AUS — despite missing the majority of the final stretch.
When asked if Moore will be in the lineup against Waterloo, Hagarty uttered five words:
“She is ready to go.”
As mentioned, the Warriors are led by Glynn, but they also have other notable threats on the outside such as Abbey Neufeld, Jennifer Zhu and Avery Kelley. Additionally, they have setter Claire Gagne who has dished out 9.29 assists per set — good for third in the OUA this season — showing how potent and dangerous the Warriors’ offence can be.
“I think relying on our game planning and the defensive systems that have helped us win big matches this year. So, not doing anything different and letting our athletes learn throughout the match and be more effective as [it] goes on,” said Hagarty on how they could stop Waterloo’s firepower.
The winner of the matchup will earn the right to take on the victor of the Queen’s Gaels and Western Mustangs, who also face off on Saturday afternoon.
TMU has not lost to the Warriors in the regular season or the playoffs since Oct. 29, 2011 — boasting a nine-game winning streak since then. Their only loss to Waterloo in that period came in an exhibition tournament in 2013.
The first serve against the Warriors is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Saturday at the Physical Athletics Complex (PAC) in Waterloo, Ont.
“You want to put yourself in a position to extend your season by one game,” said Hagarty. “[We] are really excited.”
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