LIONS VOLLEYBALL TEAMS TOPPLED BY TMU IN FRONT HALF OF DOUBLE-HEADER, WOMEN ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFF CONTENTION

The York University Lions volleyball teams faced the TMU Bold at Mattamy Athletic Centre on Friday night in the first half of a regular season-closing weekend double-header. Last weekend against the Brock Badgers, the men swept their series while the women dropped both games.

The women were facing a steep hill in their march for a playoff spot. They needed to win both matches against TMU this weekend, who entered Friday night on a 13-match losing streak, as well as have the RMC Paladins sweep the Toronto Varsity Blues in their weekend series, to clinch a postseason berth.

The men will host an OUA quarter-final game on February 22. However, York’s seeding remains far from resolved. The Lions could fall anywhere between the second to the fourth seed, based on results around the OUA this weekend.

Women’s Match: 

York traded points with TMU throughout the opening set. Julia Typa and Amari Endes had three kills apiece, while Victoria Herrington and Brooklyn Parliament notched two. Typa also had two aces, while Herrington’s lone one forced the set to extras at 24-all. However, TMU would record the next two points for the 26-24 set victory to take a 1-0 lead. 

The Bold opened the second on a 6-3 run and were able to maintain their lead throughout the set. Backup setter Emma Serlin had a pair of aces in the set, while Kianna Drewinak recorded one of her own to go with a kill. Ultimately, the Bold would win the set 25-18 and take a 2-0 lead in the match. 

York got out to a 10-8 lead to start the third set, with Quinn Mctavish, Typa and Parliament getting kills in that stretch. A 6-2 run, which featured two aces from Parliament, increased York’s advantage to 16-10. The Lions would win the set with an emphatic 9-1 run where Herrington added two more kills and aces to win the set 25-11 to cut TMU’s lead to 2-1.  

Like the third, the Lions led the Bold 10-8 through the first 18 points of the fourth. TMU would then proceed to go on a 7-0 run to take a 15-10 lead and threaten to run away with it. York wouldn’t concede, however, battling back to lurk with the Bold, trailing by a 23-20 score. The Bold would nix any hopes of a comeback with a Scarlett Gingeria kill and a block by Rayanna Amos-Ross Fisher to win the set 25-21 and the match 3-1.  

The loss eliminates the Lions from playoff contention.

Men’s Match: 

The Bold were able to establish the early advantage, getting out to a 6-2 lead. While the Lions had four kills from Chris Hoffman and three more from Nathan Luken, TMU was able to run away with the opening set, winning it 25-18 set victory to take a 1-0 advantage. 

York got out to a 9-8 run to open the second set. In the stretch, Alex Ko and Jasraj Nijjar had two kills, while Hoffman added one to go with two service aces. York proceeded to go on a 7-2 run to lead 16-10. TMU responded with a 11-1 run to lead 22-17. TMU was able to close out to win the set 25-21 and go up 2-0. 

TMU was able to start the fourth set with a 7-3 run and kept their foot on the gas the rest of the way. Hoffman recorded all three of York’s kills on the set, and the Lions forced the Bold into 12 errorserrors. Despite these efforts, TMU claimed the set 25-15 to secure the straight-set victory. 

The one piece of good news out of Friday for York: Queen’s also fell, in four sets, to the Trent Excalibur. With Toronto’s win over RMC, there is a three-way tie for second in the OUA. If all three teams finish tied, York will finish second based on sets won in head-to-head competition. This means with a win Saturday afternoon, or losses by Toronto and Queen’s, the Lions will still finish second in the OUA and earn home court advantage in the first two rounds of the OUA playoffs. However, a loss, paired with a Toronto win and a Queen’s loss will see the Varsity Blues vault up to second and the Lions finish third. Meanwhile, a Lions loss plus wins from both Toronto and Queen’s will slide the Lions all the way down to fourth.

 LOOKING AHEAD:

The Lions conclude the regular season in a rematch with the Bold at Mattamy Athletic Centre on Saturday, February 15. The women’s match starts at 1:00 pm, while the men’s action begins at approximately 3:00 pm.