TORONTO – In their last game before the holiday break, the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s volleyball team secured a 3-2 comeback win against the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
Despite falling behind two sets in the match, the Bold pulled off the reverse sweep — taking three straight sets — to extend their winning streak to three games.
“I think it was huge. Especially in our gym to be down like that and to be able to come back and win three in a row, we’re going to see the dividends for that next semester,” said interim Bold head coach Niko Rukavina.
In the first set, the Gyphons stormed out to a 14-8 lead after a series of kills from Jonathan Pickett. Guelph was able to close out the set 25-14 to give them a 1-0 lead.
The white and red’s search for revenge from Friday night continued in the second frame as their offence was firing from all around. However, some strong defence from the Bold’s Omari Young helped cut the lead to four at 21-17.
Nonetheless, the Gryphons were able to win the set to double their lead.
“We knew they were going to punch back,” said Rukavina. “We handled them pretty easily last night — tonight wasn’t easy.”
The third set was back and forth between the two squads. In the heart of the frame, the Bold’s offence came alive, going on an 8-0 run to stretch their lead to 20-13.
The offensive outbreak from the blue and gold didn’t stop there either as Saad Shaikh set up his teammates for more kills to help cut the Guelph lead in half with a 25-19 set win.
“Whatever happens, happens. Just leave it on the floor,” said Shaikh on his mindset when the Bold were trailing.
“I think all of the boys really dialled down and stuck together and really relied on each other,” said Bold middle Alex King.
In a very similar set as the third, the fourth frame had both teams trading blows once again. The Gryphons held the lead up until 14-13 before the Bold took control as Jacob Walker secured numerous kills late in the set. Pickett responded with a few kills of his own, however, the Bold finished the set with a 25-23 win to even up the match.
“In those close matches is where your studs come out and Jacob is our guy,” said Rukavina on the second-year outside hitter.
The momentum shift in the Bold’s favour was abundantly clear early in the fifth set. However, the Gyphons didn’t go down easily. The nationally-ranked side pushed TMU to the brink tying the game up at 15-15 in the final frame.
After a small back and forth, yet again, an attack error from Gryphon Brandon Sears gave the Bold the 18-16 set and match win to complete the comeback.
“Just pure happiness. I was ecstatic. It was great,” said King on his emotions when the Bold secured the comeback.
This was the Bold’s last match of 2022 as they now head into the break. Despite a slow start to begin the year, the Bold are now riding high heading into the holidays.
“We’re really just trying to take all of the positives that we gained throughout this semester,” added King.
“These last three wins have been huge for us to kind of get ready for next semester,” said Rukavina.
The Bold are not back on the floor until Jan. 7, 2023, as they take on the Trent Excalibur in Peterborough to open their second half of the season.
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