GUELPH, Ont. – The TMU Bold women’s volleyball team moved to 14-5 on the season with a victory over Guelph on Friday afternoon. The three-set win was the Bold’s sixth straight, part of a streak that dates back to the start of February. The win ensures the Bold will finish no worse than fourth in the OUA this season, ensuring a favourable matchup on home court in the first round of playoffs.
Guelph, who entered the contest just one game behind the Bold for fourth in the OUA, found themselves in a tightly contested first set. The teams would split the first twenty points of the set evenly. The back and forth set would continue as neither team could establish a definitive edge. The set would go to a tiebreaker, where the Bold would save a set point against Guelph, before eventually taking the set 27-25.
The second set saw the Gryphons build an early 10-5 advantage behind good attacking play. The lead would swell to 14-9 before a Bold time out attempted to slow the Guelph momentum. The home side would continue to hit at an efficient clip coming out of the break, however, giving the Bold little room to mount a second set comeback. However, an impressive Mikayla Sherriffs service game would inspire a 5-0 TMU run just as Guelph looked to close out the set. Despite being down 24-19 at one stage, the Bold would eventually force a set point on a Sherriffs’ ace for their sixth straight point. The Bold would close out the incredible comeback on a Guelph error, recording seven straight points to steal the set.
Looking to close the contest out in the third, the Bold would again find themselves in a battle. Lauren Veltman was called upon often in the set’s early stages, helping the Bold grow a 6-3 lead. Guelph would quickly climb back into things, however, answering the Bold point for point as the set continued. The Gryphons would eventually tie the score at 15 on a TMU attacking error, setting up yet another dramatic finish to the set.
The Bold would grab a five point lead at 23-18, behind two strong service performances from Tyra Krapp and Ashley Ditchfield. Julie Gordon would put the Bold just one point away with her sixth kill of the contest. Scarlett Gingera would close the game out with a kill, her ninth of the match, to secure a Bold straight sets victory.
Gingera and Veltman tied for a game-high nine kills each.
The Bold finish the regular season in a rematch against Guelph tomorrow. Coverage begins at 6 p.m.