The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s volleyball squad fell to the Windsor Lancers in four sets earlier today (16-25, 23-25, 25-23, 22-25) to go winless on their opening weekend to the 2023-24 campaign.
Sunday’s match featured a much closer battle than the score indicated, with the Bold showing fight in the final sets to try and mount a comeback – having initially trailed the Lancers 2-0.
Despite getting off to a slow start, Alex King led the way for the Bold as they worked to find their footing in the late stages of the match, posting 29 kills and 31 of the team’s 60 points.
“My team kept setting me up well. Everybody around me helped me play better today,” said King following the loss.
The Lancers kept the home side well out of reach throughout the match’s opening set and at one point, held an eight-point lead over the Bold. Windsor would go on to rout TMU in a 25-16 set victory, holding their opposition to just a .150 hitting percentage.
“We looked like we were a bit fatigued and not ready to go right away,” mentioned head coach of the Bold Niko Rukavina postgame. The long-winded match yesterday was an element of the weekend that Rukavina believes plagued the initial set of Sunday’s contest.
TMU established control for brief moments in the second set of the afternoon, gaining production from the likes of Lucas Yang and Nick Hudson. The Bold appeared to have snatched the momentum from the Lancers after pulling within five points of clinching the set, but Windsor exploded for three consecutive points and a service ace to push TMU to the brink.
“You give [Windsor] a little bit too much of a runway, they’re just going to take it and run,” added Rukavina.
With the home crowd behind them, the Bold rallied back to marginally take the third set by a 25-23 score. King helped secure the victory by hammering eight kills onto the Windsor floor, with Kai Higuchi chipping in five additional kills to fuel the comeback for the Bold.
“We have a lot of outside hitters that can do a lot of different things,” said Rukavina – who praised the offensive fight from his team following Sunday’s loss.
TMU would be unable to extend the match towards a fifth and final set, falling to the Lancers 25-22 in the fourth frame. Gustavo Siqueira registered eight of his team-leading 21 kills in the tightly-contested set to help secure a weekend sweep for the Lancers.
The Bold’s next shot at clinching their first victory of the season comes next weekend in St. Catharines. The blue and gold face off with the Brock Badgers Friday at 8:00 p.m.
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