The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women’s volleyball team defeated the York Lions 3-1 on Saturday (Jan. 6) night.
Set scores for the match were 21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-17.
Following a slow start which saw U of T dropping the first set of the match, the Blues responded with several strong service runs to sweep the next three. Toronto’s offensive attack proved to be too much for the Lions as the Blues tallied an additional 10 kills, three aces, and nine assists when compared to the home sides attack numbers.
The Blues offence was paced by an exceptional performance from first-year setter Anna Arellano who registered a new season-high 36 assists in the four set win, adding seven digs defensively.
Benefitting from the strong play of the setter, both second-year outside hitters Olivia Zhu and Julia Murmann provided U of T with a 1-2 punch as the pair combined for 37 total kills. Zhu finished the contest with 20 kills and a solo block, while Murmann showcased both her offensive and defensive prowess recording 17 kills and one service ace, alongside 15 digs defensively.
Blues first-year libero Delaney Watson led all players on the night with a game-high 19 digs.
Leading the Lions was Amarai Endes who tallied a team-high 12.5 points from 11 kills, one solo block, and one block assist.
Toronto will return home to the Goldring Centre for back-to-back matches versus the Queen’s Gaels next weekend. The first match is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 12. Tickets for Blues home games are available at varsityblues.ca/tickets, while all matches are also streamed online at oua.tv.