The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s volleyball team defeated the TMU Bold 3-1 on Friday (Feb. 10) evening, picking up their second win of the weekend and sixth consecutive victory.
Set scores in the match were 27-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-21.
In a battle for the crown of Toronto, the Varsity Blues triumphed twice this weekend. Both teams exuded endless amounts of energy and perseverance, electrifying the environment inside the Mattamy Athletic Centre. With each set being so close, it came down to the better efficiency for the Blues as they converted 57 total kills to just 47 for the Bold, achieving a .261 kill percentage through the four sets.
Blues outside hitter Jayden Talsma embodied this energy like no other player recording a game-high and new career-high of 27 points and 24 kills. Talsma’s stat line was rounded out by a combination of 24 kills, two service aces, one solo block, and nine digs defensively. Additional offence for the Blues came from fellow outside hitter Hunter Arulpragasam and middle Nic Silon who each added 14 and 11.5 points, respectively.
The Blues offence was guided by setter Michael Hickey with 50 total assists, while simultaneously, Toronto’s defence was topped by Arulpragasam and Joshua Chapman who registered 12 digs each.
TMU saw a team-high of 17.5 points recorded by a trio of players in Kai Higuchi, Ben Davey, and Alex King.
The Blues will return to the court Friday (Feb. 16) to battle the Windsor Lancers. First serve is set for 8 p.m. Tickets for the Blues home game can be purchased at varsityblues.ca/tickets, while all the action can also be caught online via oua.tv.