On Saturday (Nov. 16) afternoon, the No. 10 University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s volleyball team faced the No. 6 Windsor Lancers for a second consecutive day, falling in Windsor by a final margin of 3-0.
The match unfolded as a tightly contested battle, with the Blues falling victim to poor luck in just two-point margin victories for the Lancers in each of the three sets. Back-and-forth action featured dramatic shifts in momentum, with the Blues making several impressive comebacks, particularly in the first and third sets where they pushed Windsor to extra points. However, the bounces failed to go U of T’s way in the battle of two teams featured in the most recent U SPORTS national Top 10.
The Varsity Blues were once again led offensively by another standout performances from fourth-year outside hitter Hunter Arulpragasam. The Blues veteran spearheaded the offence with a game-high 20 points from18 kills, one service ace, and two block assists. Meanwhile, fellow fourth-year outside hitter Jayden Talsma added 12.5 points from 11 kills, once solo block, and one block assist. Third-year setter Michael Hickey provided a stellar all-around performance with 32 assists and 10 digs, while fourth-year libero Rylan Armstrong recorded a team-high 11 digs, defensively.
The Windsor Lancers, now boasting an 8-1 record, were led by Darian Koskie’s dynamic offensive play, scoring 11 kills with a remarkable .579 hitting percentage. Setter Markus Law-Heese controlled the flow of the game with 36 assists, while libero Quintin Greenidge posted a game-high 12 digs.
The Blues will look to regroup before taking on a familiar opponent in the TMU Bold on home court at Goldring Centre next weekend. First serve for a Friday (Nov. 22) night contest is schedule for 5:30 p.m., before an afternoon start on Saturday (Nov. 23) at 2 p.m. Tickets for Varsity Blues home games are available at varsityblues.ca/tickets, while matches are also streamed on oua.tv.