LONDON, Ont. – The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) men’s volleyball team delivered a thrilling comeback to secure a 3-2 (25-21, 17-25, 18-25, 25-22, 21-19) victory over the Western Mustangs on Saturday afternoon.
After a straight-set loss to the Mustangs on Friday night, the Bold entered Saturday’s rematch with determination but faced an early challenge. Trailing 20-15 late in the opening set, TMU mounted their first of many comebacks. Jacob Walker ignited the rally with a kill, while Western faltered with a series of errors, allowing the Bold to level the score at 20-20. Walker then took command, delivering another kill and a service ace to seal a 25-21 first-set victory for TMU.
In the second set, the Mustangs provided a response, jumping out to an 8-4 advantage and never looking back. Outscoring the Bold 12-7 in kills in the set, the home team cruised to a 25-17 win to even the match.
Unfortunately for the Bold, the third set was more of the same as the Mustangs built a six-point lead at 11-5 and took the set 25-18. Despite the set loss, Aiden Hooper provided a bright spark for the Bold as he generated four of his career-high five kills in the frame.
Hooper got more help from his teammates in the fourth, as the Bold, determined not to go home without putting up a fight, brought significantly more energy than their opponents in the penultimate set. Led by mulitple kills from Walker, Alex King and Day Westell, the Bold never trailed in the set and took a 25-22 win.
The fifth set proved to be an instant classic. Both teams traded points in a nail-biting affair that extended into extra time. TMU appeared poised to close out the match with a 14-10 lead, but the Mustangs rallied to tie it at 15-15. The tension continued to build as the sides traded points, highlighted by a 45-second rally, and a crucial dive save by King with TMU facing a 19-18 deficit. Ultimately, the Bold capitalized on back-to-back Western attack errors to clinch the set 21-19 and the match victory.
Walker led the Bold in the contest with 19 kills and Taylor Wenzel, who passed 1000 career assists on Friday night, contributed 41 assists and 12 digs.
Next up for the Bold is a matchup against the McMaster Marauders at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto on Friday, January 17. The match is set to begin at 8 p.m., with free admission for students who present their OneCard at the door.