TORONTO – The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s volleyball team took an impressive 3-1 win for their first of the season against the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday afternoon in a packed Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Coming into the afternoon, TMU was looking for their first victory of the year after dropping back-to-back matches to the Western Mustangs. Nonetheless, Saturday was a different story.
“We came really well prepared,” said Bold head coach Dustin Reid. “On the floor, we executed very well and made very few errors.”
Throughout the match, Scarlett Gingera led the way for the Bold in the victory with 12 kills, while Ashley Ditchfield also added nine kills herself alongside seven blocks.
In the first set, the home atmosphere motivated the Bold as they came out of the gates hot with a 9-3 lead — forcing the Blues to take an early timeout. TMU was able to take control off the back of numerous Blues errors and two quick kills from newcomer Julie Moore.
“I think we were excited to play the home opener, to be honest,” said Reid. “Only one or two players on the roster have ever done [a true home opener.]”
“It was awesome. It was so much fun,” said Moore on playing in front of the raucous home crowd.
Later in the opening frame, the Bold continued to take control offensively, however, their defence was pivotal as well. When the Blues looked to tighten the deficit, Ditchfield came up with a massive block to help maintain their advantage.
The margin then held for the blue and gold and they were able to come away with the first set.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair as the two squads traded blows early, but Ditchfield’s blocking dominance was crucial for the Bold and helped them pull away. The third-year middle is already adding to her All-OUA selection last season as she had three blocks in the set — each in decisive moments.
“I stuck to the game plan and was really disciplined in my blocking,” said Ditchfield. “I knew my team was there to cover me while I was hitting, so I was confident when I was swinging away.”
“Ashley had seven blocks. The opponent had three as a team, so I think there’s a big difference in the match right there,” added Reid.
Bold outside hitter Mikayla Sherriffs also caught fire. The third-year veteran had five kills in the second frame to help add to the TMU lead. Although the set was close early, the Bold never trailed and made it a 2-0 match.
Early in the third, the Bold fell behind in the set score for the first time in the match as the Blues looked to mount a comeback.
Shortly after, Julia Murmann took control for the Blues as she added six kills in the set to begin widening the Toronto advantage en route to the set win.
Despite dropping the prior game, the Bold stormed on in search of victory. At one point in the fourth frame, the set score was even at 13-13, but the Bold followed it up with a 10–2 run — stretching their lead to nine.
Nonetheless, the Blues responded as they put up five straight to cut the lead to four. Yet, it was too much in the end as the Bold took the set and match.
“We really wanted to get the win at home, so we stayed together and pushed on,” said Ditchfield.
“When you have your chances, you have to take advantage and we did that in the fourth set,” said Reid.
The Bold now look ahead to next Friday as they welcome the McMaster Marauders to the MAC, who are undefeated so far this season.
“We have a really hard start to our schedule — facing Western, Toronto and McMaster, but I think the more we play as a team, the more we’ll have success,” said Moore.
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