TORONTO—The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s volleyball team lost 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-21) to the Brock Badgers in a rematch on Halloween night.
The Bold played their second game of the season, opening their campaign on home court. On Friday night, TMU fell 3-1 (25-22, 29-31, 27-25, 25-20) to the Badgers in a thrilling four-set match that featured close point contention.
The opening of the first set saw rookie Zack Firkins take to the court and make an immediate impact. Off a set from Declan Dunn, Firkins struck to give the Bold the first point of the match.
To give the Bold their next point, Brayden Walker made a diving leap to keep the ball in play, allowing Dunn to send a well-placed pass to Riley Donovan, who finished the rally with a kill that Brock was unable to block. To keep the Bold ahead, Donovan followed his earlier point with a tip that the Badgers could not reach in time.
Despite their early lead, a service error from TMU allowed Brock to pull ahead.
The first half of the set featured a close game with both teams trading errors. The score slowly rose, with the Badgers holding a single-point advantage through points six to 10.
A beautiful assist from Dunn had Firkins leaping up to smash the ball down onto the opposing team’s court at a speed that Brock could not answer. This allowed the Bold to take back the lead at 11-10.
A follow-up kill by Firkins kept the Bold in the lead at 12-11. Firkins finished with five kills.
“He played a lot in pre-season and we didn’t expect him to be on the floor this early, but he’s really handled himself,” said head coach Niko Rukavina. “He’s pretty calm and composed for a first year. We were really happy with what Furkins did today.”
In a turn of events, a block and service ace from Brock, followed by a TMU attack error, gave the Badgers a four-point lead, prompting the home team to call a timeout.
Coming back onto the court, the Bold managed to narrow the four-point lead to two, marked by a double block by Aidan Suttie and Dunn that brought the score to 22-20.
Unfortunately, the Badgers still claimed the set at 25-21.
The middle set saw Walker claim the first point for the Bold. By the seven-point mark, TMU had taken a two-point lead with a block from Suttie and Dunn.
However, the two-point lead flipped after two service aces from the Badgers, due to miscalled out cues, brought the score to 10-8 in favour of Brock.
Although the middle of the set featured a big kill from Ross Buchanan and a block from Donovan, the Badgers pulled ahead by three points following a block and service error from the Bold, resulting in a 19-16 score.
A long rally saw Walker receive the ball but struggle to control it, allowing Brock to pass the 20-point mark and extend its lead to four.
The Badgers continued to pull ahead as the Bold lost momentum, closing the set at 25-18.
In the third set, two service aces from Walker gave Bold an early 3-1 lead.
The lead did not last, as a series of errors by TMU and a service ace from Brock put the Bold at a two-point deficit.
When the Bold reclaimed the lead at the 11-point mark, the momentum shifted again after two kills from the Badgers and two attack errors from the Bold gave the opposition a four-point advantage.
In a similar trend to the previous sets, although the game remained in close contention early on, the Bold seemed to slow down towards the end, allowing the Badgers to take the lead and pull ahead.
Four consecutive attack errors from the Bold brought today’s match to an end, closing the final set at 25-21.
Rukavina spoke to the mental side of the sport and how to unlock his team’s next gear.
“It’s mental toughness and resilience, staying focused on the task, staying focused on the game plan,” said Rukavina. “You can’t simmer down at all or settle down at all and let the other team go.”
Up next, the Bold will play their first away game of the season against the RMC Paladins on Friday, Nov. 6. First swing is at 7:30 p.m. and fans can watch the game on OUA.tv.
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