WINDSOR, Ont. – The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s volleyball squad was unable to squeeze out a win in their stingy contest with the Windsor Lancers, falling 3-1 at the novel Toldo Lancer Centre.
A pivotal fourth and final set highlighted the victory for Windsor as Emma Sheppard followed up a tight 20-18 score with three consecutive service aces to swing the momentum the way of the home side, one they would fail to relinquish the rest of the way.
Yali Sealy paved the way for the Lancers in terms of offence, throwing down ten kills and 13 digs to help secure her side’s third straight win.
Scarlett Gingera of the Bold would be the lonesome individual to match Sealy’s kill total, assisting the Bold on numerous runs throughout the match in an attempt to stay within striking distance of the home side.
TMU opened up the match with a flurry of ferocious attacks, including a six-point stretch of Sarah Zonneveld icing the Lancers’ from the baseline. The second-year forced the Lancers into four attacking errors while also touching down on her first service ace of the afternoon.
Windsor would be hard-pressed to find any sort of flow in their offence throughout the duration of the first set, falling to the Bold by a 25-17 score.
The set to follow however, would play out much differently for the Lancers as the group effectively picked up the pieces to their offence and edged out the Bold in their 25-22 set victory.
A pair of four-point drives highlighted the Lancers’ first win of the afternoon and propelled the attack forward for the home side.
The Lancers’ momentum would continue to spill out in the third set as well, with Raiya Millin and Aryn Markett contributing four kills each to take a stranglehold in the match. Despite taking a late 17-16 lead in the set, the dynamic duo for the Lancers would prove to overwhelm the Bold defence and pave the way towards Windsor’s second straight win of the afternoon.
The fourth and final set played out very similarly to its predecessor, with both sides looking to find a way to pick up their third consecutive win on the season.
A late fight from the Bold would put the Lancers’ victory parade on pause, however the home side would be able to capitalize on Sheppard’s dominant play and beat the Bold 25-22 for the third consecutive set.
The Bold will look to get back in the win column next Friday when they play host to the Queen’s Gaels. First serve flies at 7:00 p.m. at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.