TORONTO – In what amounted to a “must-win”, the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s volleyball team pulled out all the necessary stops, defeating the Waterloo Warriors in five sets. The Bold (7-10) still need help if they’re to make the postseason, but Friday’s win represents a positive step forward after dropping their last four contests.
“Honestly, at this point, three-sets, four-sets, five-sets, it doesn’t matter to me as long as we get the win,” said head coach Niko Rukavina. “It’s our home court.”
Kai Higuchi, who got the start tonight, opened the Bold’s scoring in the first set. TMU began by scoring the first five points of the contest, forcing a quick timeout for the Warriors. Waterloo quickly battled back into the set, leveling the score at six. As the set continued, the sides remained level with little separating the two. As the first set reached its middle stage however, the Warriors began to pull away. Waterloo closed out the set on a 7-4 run, taking the initial 1-0 lead with the 25-18 first set victory.
Lyam Krapp reinvigorated the dormant TMU crowd with a kill to open the second set for the Bold. Throughout the losing streak bounces have not been going the Bold’s way. That trend continued in the early going of the second set. First-year Kai Taylor, who’s been primarily used as a service specialist this season, was a big component of the Bold response in the second set.
“He’s very composed for an athlete his age he’s got a rocket of a float serve and where we’re really working on the other aspects of his game.” said Rukavina. “But that calm composure doesn’t come around every every day, so I’ll really happy about him and happy that he’s in our program.”
The two sides carried a level score into 24 all. After an attacking error gave the Bold a chance to level the score, the Warriors would commit another, giving the Bold a much-needed equalizer.
The boost from the second set victory failed to translate into the start of the third. The Warriors raced to a 5-1 lead before Alex King cooled Waterloo momentum with a kill. Despite a temporary break in the onslaught, King’s kill ultimately couldn’t prevent Waterloo from stretching their lead to nine. The Warriors ended up running away with the third set, capturing it with a score of 25-19.
Looking to close out the contest in four sets, the Warriors began the set hot. The Bold, needing the set to keep their playoff hopes alive, were equally resilient. TMU held a razor-thin edge as the set reached its middle, with an Alex King kill punctuating the Bold’s early response in the fourth. Jacob Walker, who spent much of the contest on the sideline, also provided a much needed spark for the Bold in the fourth.
The slight edge the Bold held quickly disappeared in the set’s middle stages, setting up a dramatic finish to the fourth set. A big block from Bobby Tang and a kill from Jacob Walker put the Bold back in the driver’s seat. The small lead would prove enough, as the Bold forced a fifth-set tiebreaker with a 25-23 set win.
The most important set of the season got off to the wrong start for the Bold. Waterloo captured the three of the set’s first four points. Frustratingly, the Bold never seemed capable of leveling the score. Until an Evan Moua service game. First an ace, then an attacking error from the Warriors, and a magnetic kill from Jacob Walker gave the Bold an 8-7 lead as the squads switched sides. Carrying the slimmest of margins, the Warriors always stayed close by. Riley Donovan put the Bold two away with a slick kill in tight, then Day Westell brought the MAC to its feet with a monumental kill to put the Bold just a point away. The Bold would close out the match, and their seventh victory of the season, in unceremonious fashion, as a Waterloo serve drifted out of bounds to wrap up the 15-12 set win.
For Rukavina, the fight displayed today is why he believes his squad still has a chance at the postseason dance.
“The focus wasn’t about the score, the standings or playoffs today. It’s about playing good volleyball,” concluded Rukavina. “Now it’s just about how long we can play at that high level.”
The Bold are back in action tomorrow afternoon, taking on the Warriors in a rematch at 2 p.m. TMU students receive free admission with their OneCard. Catch all home games streaming on OUA.tv.