TORONTO – The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s volleyball squad were unable to deliver a timely response in the late stages of their Wednesday night affair, falling in five sets to the Waterloo Warriors and bringing a solemn end to the group’s winning ways.
“There were times where we were high, and others when we were low; we couldn’t stay stable,” said leading scorer, Jacob Walker.
The Bold opened up their bid for a fourth-straight win by stringing together a defensive masterclass to deliver a heavy response to an early Waterloo attack.
With the visiting Ben Newell picking apart the Bold in the initial stages of the set, outside hitter Lyam Krapp came up with a trio of blocks to compliment his side’s monstrous seven-point run.
“That’s how we win the matches, by being really big in our blocks,” said captain Lhexen Rabit.
Off the heels of Krapp’s net front dominance, TMU rushed to their first lead of the match and never looked back, downing the Warriors by nine points to take the opening set.
Despite the relentless defence taking front stage in the leading stanza, Walker made sure to leave his mark on the hardwood by registering a team-leading five kills to earn the point.
The sophomore’s dominance flooded the middle set as well, with Walker stacking blows to keep the offence flowing for the blue and gold. Despite his efforts, however, the Bold’s leading scorer could not keep the Warriors from racking up consecutive points of their own late in the second set.
Trailing by four midway through the frame, Waterloo followed up their four-point run to tie the Bold, with a stretch of seven consecutive points to silence the home crowd. A pair of service aces and numerous attacking errors handed the Warriors their first win of the match, as well as ground every ounce of momentum TMU withheld.
“When Waterloo pushed back, we didn’t have a response ready,” said interim head coach of the Bold, Niko Rukavina, following the match. “That’s frustrating for sure,” he added.
In need of another spark plug, the Bold turned to their veteran hitter Omari Young to provide some much-need offensive footing. The fourth-year swiftly delivered through dominance, contributing six kills and a pair of service aces to lead his side to a pivotal third-set win.
Rukavina praised the third-set play of his integral veteran as well, mentioning how: “When he is on and bringing energy for us, he’s a huge addition.”
In a similar stance to their lonesome tally of the match, the Warriors would take dominion over the Bold and on the back of their continuous point-streaks as well.
The visitors capitalized on their momentous marker midway through the fourth set, coming up with three straight blocks before Noel Campfens pitched a wall of his own to sink the dagger into the Bold defence.
Waterloo would go on to take the fourth, and eventually fifth set later in the match. Mistakes on the offensive side of the ball led to the unraveling of the Bold when it mattered most, with five attacking errors being one of the leading difference-makers amidst the closing set of action.
With their eyes still set on cracking the OUA playoffs, the Bold will turn their focus to a crucial weekend matchup against their crosstown rivals. First serve against the Toronto Varsity Blues flies at 8 p.m. on Saturday.