The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s volleyball squad were swept at the hands of the University of Toronto (UofT) Varsity Blues on Saturday, falling 3-1 by scores of 25-27, 25-22, 21-25, 21-25.
TMU’s inability to foster late points ultimately costed the Bold in Saturday’s defeat, opening the door wide open for the Varsity Blues to rally off consecutive victories and take the match.
“We’re sick of losing. It’s frustrating especially on the last home game of the season,” mentioned third-year setter Taylor Wenzel following his team’s fourth consecutive defeat.
A late collapse from TMU gifted the Varsity Blues with a first set win in Saturday’s contest to propel the Bold behind the eight ball.
The blue and gold watched their early 13-6 lead in the first get flattened by the Varsity Blues while also failing to capitalize on a pair of set-point opportunities to put away their opposition.
The group responded in the second set with an early six point lead over their crosstown rivals that featured a 5-0 run and a trio of consecutive service aces from Alex King.
Unlike the finishing woes that haunted the Bold in the opening set of the match, the group finished off the Varsity Blues with ease to take the second set and even up the score.
King played an instrumental role in putting an end to the visitors’ comeback hopes, piecing together a kill and a block on consecutive plays to seal the deal.
Despite the loss, head coach of the Bold Niko Rukavina was pleased with the response level from his group throughout the second frame.
“The way we played in the second was impressive,” mentioned Rukavina following the match.
“We came back and showed that we could fight,” he added.
UofT took a 2-1 lead with a 25-21 victory in the third set, holding off strong performances from TMU’s Kai Higuchi and Ben Davey to push the Bold to the brink.
The two combined for eight of the Bold’s 10 kills throughout the third set and combined for 30 kills by the end of the match.
Rukavina had nothing but praise to shed towards his pair of outside hitters, mentioning that the performance of Davey was the best he’s seen from his third-year in a TMU uniform.
“It was great to have all the cylinders firing,” mentioned Wenzel. “It was good to have those guys step up to the challenge,” he added.
The Bold would get within four points of forcing a fifth and final set against the Varsity Blues but found themselves unsuccessful in out-scoring their opponents .308 hitting percentage.
The loss drops the Bold to 8-14 on the season and extends their losing streak to four games heading into the final weekend of the campaign.
The group will look to carry a positive into 2025 with a pair of wins against the Guelph Gryphons next weekend.
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