It was a hard-fought battle for the York University Lions Women’s Volleyball team in downtown Toronto against the U of T Varsity Blues, as they saw themselves at the wrong end of a doozy at Goldring Centre.
After taking the first set 25-17,the Lions lost their lead in the second set with a score of 17-25. The third set produced moments of magic as the Lions closed down an eight point gap to make a wonderful 26-24 comeback. Unfortunately, they came short in the fourth and fifth sets to settle for a 3-2 loss in what was their first loss of the season. Jessica Reynolds and Alisa Trubyuk both had excellent performances, racking up 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Amarai Endes had a night to remember with 8 kills and 1 ace. The Lions’ setters Natalie Lefaive and Chiara Da Silva also had solid outings as they recorded 21 and 19 assists throughout the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Lions opened the scoring through a wonderful hit by Olivia Kim, which set up the tempo for the rest of the first set in which York maintained the lead throughout.
With the first-set score 11-4 York, Da Silva, in her first appearance of the season, set up an imposing block against Toronto’s frontline hitter to further cement her team’s lead to 13-4.
Into the later stages of the first set, the Varsity Blues managed to close the gap to seven points. However the reliability of York’s first teamers came in clutch as the final point was earned through Kim’s kill that was setup by Da Silva.
The Varsity Blues took the second set by a score of 25-18 in what was a tough challenge for the Lions. York made several service errors as well as hit inconsistencies that went out of bounds, costing them valuable points.
In the latter stages of the third set, after being down 20-15, York showed great resilience to battle back and tie the at 22 thanks to kills by Endes and Trubyuk
The Lions then surmounted the great comeback by pulling off a 26-24 victory in the third set. The comeback was completed with a service error from Toronto, followed by Endes causing the final blow by scoring two consecutive spike kills.
The fourth set began poorly for York as surrendered the first six points of the set. The Lions were quick to get back on their feet to close the gap, however, as Endes and Reynolds led the team in total attacks. However the final score ended 25-17 for Toronto to tie the match at 2.
In the final set, both teams produced an excellent display of volleyball as the scoreline always remained close. Unfortunately, Toronto’s Hope Kotun’s spike from the center court was enough to give them their final point to take a 15-13 victory for the Varsity Blues.
LOOKING AHEAD:
This loss drops the Lions to 2-1. They will look to regain their form with a visit to McMaster to battle the Marauders on Saturday at 6:00 pm.
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