The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s volleyball team defeated the Nipissing Lakers 3-2 (25-21, 30-28, 25-27, 23-25, 15-13) on Friday night (Feb. 10) in North Bay, Ont.
With the win, the Blues improve to 12-6 and sit tied for third place in the OUA standings. The win also marked head coach John Barrett’s 100th career regular season victory.
TORONTO STATS: Fourth-year left side Evan Falardeau led the Blues with 27 points, through a game-high 25 kills. The Stratford, Ont. native added a solo block, a service ace and eight digs on the night.
Outside hitter Mitchell Neuert followed with 17 points tallying 16 kills and nine digs. Third-year middle blocker Hayden Cavender added 13.5 points for the Blues tonight; he contributed 10 kills, two solo blocks, an assisted block and one ace.
Second-year setter Davis Young had a team-high 51 assists and 12 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The first set began with Toronto going on a three-point scoring run. Helped by an outstanding defensive performance from Hayden Cavendar, the Blues were able to hold that lead through the entirety of the opening set besting the Lakers 25-21.
The second set proved to be a difficult one for the Lakers and Blues. The Lakers took an early lead which was passed by the Blues by way of a Falardeau kill. That lead did not last long as a Lakers scoring run brought the score in Nipissing’s favour 21-20. From there, the pair went back and forth with crucial plays from Cavender and Neuert winning the set for the Blues 30-28.
In the following set, the Blues attack slowed. With errors compiling and a late surge from the Lakers attack, the Blues fell in the third set by a score of 25-27.
A back-and-forth fourth set saw neither team able to hold the lead, until a four-point run from the Lakers pulled the set in the home team’s favour (25-23).
The Blues scored the first point of the fifth set with a kill from second-year outside hitter Hunter Arulpragasam. Even though the Lakers were the first team to the halfway point, the Blues seemed determined to battle back. A massive kill from Neuret changed the tone of the set and led to a three-point Blues scoring run. The run ultimately gave the Blues the point boost they needed to win the set 15-13.
UP NEXT: The Blues and Lakers do battle again tomorrow, February 11. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m.
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