NO. 9 BLUES FALL TO NO. 7 LANCERS IN OUA SEMIFINAL

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s volleyball team fell to the Windsor Lancers 3-1 (25-27, 25-16, 25-20, 25-14) on Saturday (Mar. 4) night in Windsor, Ont.
 
PLAYOFF PICTURE: The Blues will face off against the York Lions in a bronze-medal match to determine the OUA’s final berth to the U SPORTS championship. The date and time have yet to be determined.
 
The top three teams in the OUA will advance to the 2023 U SPORTS championships, March 17-19, at McMaster University.
 
TORONTO STATS: The Blues were led by fourth-year left side Evan Falardeau who tallied 15 points. Falardeau finished the game with 15 kills and six digs. Just behind was outside Hitter Mitchell Neuert with 14 points. The Toronto, Ont. native had 12 kills and two service aces.
 
Second-year setter Davis Young set up the Blues tonight with 33 assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED: The Blues opened the first set strong grabbing a 6-2 lead right off the bat. The Lancers would quickly cut into U of T’s lead and the Blues and Lancers continued to trade points through the set. Toronto held the majority of the set before winning 27-25. 
 
It was another strong start for the Blues in the second set taking a 7-1 lead early. The Lancers would come storming back winning five straight points and would go on to take the lead. Windsor would continue to push on to grab a decisive 19-13 lead before taking the set 25-16. 
 
In the third set, the Blues and Lancers would trade points and leads throughout, until the final few points. While the game was tied 18-18, the Lancers won five straight points to give them the lead. Shortly after, they took the set 25-20.
 
The Lancers came out with the momentum in the final set, opening with a 5-2 lead. Similar to the third, Toronto and Windsor would battle closely for most of the set, but the Lancers slowly continued to extend their lead. They would go on to win their final five points to win the game.