TORONTO – The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s volleyball dropped an important game in their playoff push on Friday night, falling to the Guelph Gryphons 3-2. Despite the loss the Bold (6-7) are still well within the OUA playoff picture. The Bold currently sit tied for sixth place in the OUA, with a game in hand over those they are battling for the final playoff spots.
“It’s pretty fresh right now,” said head coach Niko Rukavina, “I feel a little frustrated. I think that was the one that we let get away from us and we’re getting to the point of the season where we can’t really let games get away.”
The Bold, currently in the toughest stretch of their schedule, got off to a hot start racing out to an 8-3 lead in the first set. In his return from injury Lyam Krapp provided a boost to the right side of the Bold defense. Equally as impressive in the opening set was the Bold’s sparkling .393 hitting percentage led by Riley Donovan. TMU, which has struggled to execute at times offensively this season, was solid tonight helping them capture a 25-22 first set victory.
“Riley Donovan played an amazing game today and was one of our best players,” said Rukavina. “I was confident in riding him with our offense.”
The Gryphons (7-8), who battled back after a tough start in the first, were very resilient to open the second set. Guelph’s early set lead was slowly chipped away at, eventually being erased with a Jacob Walker kill. Neither side was able to gain much separation as the set reached a pinnacle, before entering extra points.
The Bold would be the first to blink, as a kill ended the set for Guelph, giving them a 27-29 victory.
The third set picked up right where the second ended as the teams remained deadlocked. The Bold held a slight edge early, but each TMU point had an equal Guelph response. A Lyam Krapp service game would be the difference for the Bold in the third, as their lead grew from just one to a multi-point advantage. Following that, an incredible individual effort by Jacob Walker, to play the ball from the Guelph side, all but assured the set victory for the Bold. They closed it out 25-21, putting them one set away from being above .500 for the first time since November.
The Gryphons would not go down without a fight as Guelph raced out to a multi-point lead early. Despite the momentum of the third set, the Bold were unable to generate any consistency on offense for much of the fourth set. Despite this, they remained within striking range. Whenever it seemed as though TMU was posed to tie it, however, something went awry, as the Gryphons captured the fourth set 25-22.
I feel like we got a little predictable with what we were doing and gave them life, and it’s OUA men’s volleyball, you can’t really give teams a chance.”
Entering another 5th set at home, something Rukavina and the team have stressed this season, there was an uneasy feeling in the crowd. Similar to their last contest against McMaster, it was now just a race to 15.
Behind a strong service game to begin from Jacob Walker, the Bold held a 3-0 advantage within moments. As the squads switched sides the Bold held an 8-6 edge. A Kai Taylor ace reinvigorated a tensely-silent crowd at the MAC out of the break.
“Ah, that kid, man,” said Rukavina. “He’s got one of the best float serves in the league. He has ice in his veins.”
The Gryphons, as they had all night however, tied it up within short order. All level at 12, it was a race to three. First point, Guelph. Second point, TMU. Third point, Guelph. Match point. And finally, a hitting error would undo the Bold as they fell 15-13 in the fifth set.
The Bold will look for a big crowd as they are back in action tomorrow afternoon from the MAC in a rematch with Guelph. First serve flies at 3 p.m. TMU students receive free admission with their one card.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login