The Lancers and Varsity Blues kept fans on the edge of their seats in a five set thriller. In the end, blue and gold lost 3-2 (23-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 12-15) and will look to rebound on Saturday in game two of the weekend doubleheader.
STATS
Service errors were the name of the game tonight, as the two teams combined for a total of 52 service errors.
Toronto was led by Evan Falardeau with 19 kills, and Mitchell Neuert with 11 kills and 13 digs.
GAME FLOW
In the first set, it was the story of the service error as the teams combined for 16 total in the frame. It was a close set from start to finish with the Blues taking the set 25-23.
Toronto opened the second with five straight points, causing Lancer head coach James Gravelle to call a timeout. The break rejuvenated the blue and gold, but the Blues came away with he win 25-20.
The third set was a much closer affair as the two teams went toe to toe for the entire set. Service errors continued to be a theme throughout the game, and a Toronto service error gave the Lancers a 25-22 win to send the game into a fourth set.
Each point could have gone either way for a majority of the nail-biting fourth set. With either team leading by only a maximum of two points at any point in the set, the Lancers finally pulled away and earned the win 25-22.
It was anyone’s game in the final set as the tension and energy were high. The fifth set was very similar to the fourth with points being traded back and forth like baseball cards. In the end, the Blues squeaked out in front of the Lancers to take the set, and the match, 15-12.
UP NEXT
The Lancers and Blues will face each other again on Saturday afternoon in what can only be another exciting game. The game is slotted for 4:00pm at the Toldo Lancer Centre and tickets can be purchased in advance at goLancers.ca/tickets. The game will also be broadcast live at oua.tv.