NORTH BAY, Ont. – The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s volleyball team took on the Nipissing Lakers on Saturday afternoon and fell in four sets. With the loss, the Bold (6-10) still have a strong postseason chance, but no longer control their own destiny. They currently occupy ninth spot in the OUA, with the top eight squads making the postseason.
The Lakers (10-6), who mounted a furious fourth set comeback to close last night’s contest, continued their momentum into this afternoon’s contest. Nipissing held an early advantage, jumping out ahead 8-4. After the initial slow start, the Bold cooled the Lakers momentum, eventually pulling ahead with a pair of kills from Jacob Walker and Alex King. Nipissing remained undeterred, levelling the set at 21. The Bold would pull it out in the end however, rallying to win in extra points, 27-25.
The start of the second continued the back and forth battle from the first set. Nipissing again took the early advantage, but the Bold never let their lead grow beyond four in the beginning stages. As the set reached its midpoint however, the Lakers began to pull away. The lead swelled to seven before the Bold began to mount a comeback. TMU would claw back to within one, but it was too little too late as the Lakers took the second set by a score of 25-23.
As the third set opened, the Bold found themselves ahead to begin. However the Lakers quickly caught up, making the third set another back and forth affair. As the set progressed, neither side wanted to give an inch. With things level at 29, the Bold were the first to blink, as Nipissing captured the next two points, giving them a 31-29 set win, and 2-1 lead heading into the fourth.
After the marathon third set the Bold began the fourth on the wrong foot. They quickly fell behind 9-3 before a kill by Riley Donovan began to spark some momentum. As the set wore on however, the comeback was snuffed out before it really got a chance to start. Nipissing closed out the fourth set 25-20 en route to victory, severely damaging the Bold’s playoff hopes in the process.
The Bold are back in action at 8 p.m. next Friday against the Waterloo Warriors from the Mattamy Athletic Centre for the biggest weekend set of the season. Waterloo (5-11) currently sit in 11th place, and like TMU, need a sweep to keep their playoff hopes alive. TMU students receive free admission with their OneCard. Stream all home games at OUA.tv.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login