TORONTO – The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s volleyball team finished their season on Saturday afternoon, falling to the No.9 ranked York Lions in four sets. The Bold finish the season in ninth place in the OUA with a record of 8-12. Six Bold seniors dressed in the Blue & Gold for the final time at the MAC in this afternoon’s contest: Ben Davey, Lucas Yang, Taylor Wenzel, Lyam Krapp, Alex King, and Jacob Walker.
“(They’ve meant) so much,” said head coach Niko Rukavina speaking on a personal note. “They’re gonna graduate, but that doesn’t mean that they’re leaving our family.”
The Bold, who kept tier playoff hopes alive with a win last night, continued the momentum into Senior night. Ben Davey brought the MAC crowd to its feet early with a kill, but the 14-5 York Lions proved a tough-out in the opening set. Despite an early Bold lead, York was never more than a point or two behind. The Lions’ resilience would pay off, as they forced extra points in the first set. The York momentum would prove too much, as they rallied to a 33-31 set win.
The Lions continued their surge into the second set, racing out to a 5-1 lead. A Bold timeout did little to cool the momentum as the Lions continued to rip the Bold apart in a second set that unraveled for the Bold. The Lions closed out the set 25-13, taking a 2-0 stranglehold on the Bold’s last chance for a playoff spot.
TMU began the third with a renewed focus. Riley Donovan started the Bold on the right foot with a pair of kills to begin the frame. Alex King, as he has so many times for the Bold, came up clutch throughout the set. Because of the efforts of King, as well as Riley Donovan, the Bold were able to extend their season by one more set with a 25-19 victory.
“I was really impressed with the fight there in the in the third to push back,” added Rukavina. “I thought we had some life and the crowd was getting going.”
The fourth set, with the Bold’s postseason chances hanging in the balance, was especially tense for the TMU faithful that packed the MAC. York, ranked sixth in the nation, lived up to their USports ranking. Whenever the Bold grabbed a lead it would quickly evaporate. It wasn’t until back-to-back service games by Kai Taylor and Jacob Walker that the Bold lead grew to five. As they had all night, the Lions continued to battle. York eventually equalized at 22 with a well-placed ace. The Lions almost immediately pulled ahead behind a pair of kills that put the Bold on the brink. And then, with one final kill, the Bold’s season came to an end.
The Bold will now begin an offseason of rebuilding to make a push for OUA gold next season.
“I’m excited about having a full offseason, a full offseason of recruiting,” said Rukavina. “I’m excited to have some new bodies in the gym to start training, and kind of build the program up.”
Catch all the offseason updates and news across our social pages and at tmubold.ca.
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