TORONTO – With every game seemingly a “must-win” the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) men’s volleyball dropped a critical contest for their postseason chances on Saturday afternoon. The five-set loss to the Waterloo Warriors means the Bold will need to win-out, plus receive major help to make the playoffs.
“Frustrating…just frustrating,” said head coach Niko Rukavina.
The Bold (8-10), who captured last night’s victory with a dramatic comeback, again found themselves in a battle on Saturday as the first set got underway. Both sides were never separated by more than a few points throughout a back-and-forth first set. Then, a critical service reception error by the Bold put the Warriors a point away. Waterloo closed out the first set with a punctuating kill, putting the Bold behind with a 25-23 set win.
The second set seemed destined to repeat the script, until a strong Evan Moua service game pushed the Bold lead to four. Moua, the hard-serving setter, saw his role increase this weekend as the result of an impressive individual run of play.
“It’s tough on him not being a starter than playing ten sets in two days,” said Rukavina. “The offense has been clicking.”
The Warriors remained within striking distance however, eventually pulling level at 23. Both sides had chances to close out the set, but it was the Bold that got the win, as a Day Westell kill secured the 33-31 set win.
The two squads had seen very little separating the two through seven sets of action this weekend. Fans of both sides were treated to two evenly matched teams fighting for their playoff lives. The Warriors would grab the early third set lead, but once again the Bold were right on their heels. The Bold pulled level at 19, but Waterloo kept their foot on the gas, taking the third set by a score of 25-21.
Needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Bold came out blazing in the fourth, quickly racing to a 8-4 lead. Motivated by a pair of controversial refereeing decisions, the Bold saw sets better placed, attacks better executed and defensive coverages improved. As a result, the Bold ran away with the fourth set, capturing it 25-14, in a rare change of script.
“There’s gonna be bad calls, good calls, nothing you can control about that, it’s about us staying focused,” Rukavina said on the refereeing. “I thought we did a good job.”
Still riding high off the fourth set momentum, the Bold found themselves with another early set lead. Jacob Walker, who battled illness throughout the week, was instrumental in the cause. Waterloo had a response however, and as the squad switched sides, the Bold held just a slight 8-7 lead.
Out of the break Waterloo reversed momentum, with a couple of key blocks to take a multi-point lead. TMU found themselves unable to respond following a timeout, dropping the fifth set in heartbreaking fashion 15-10.
“At this point of the season, it’s seeing if we can get a little bit better in every part of our system and every skill,” Rukavina said. “And if everybody individually can get a little bit better, I think we can we can get a W.”
The Bold are back in action on Friday, Feb. 14, taking on the York Lions from the Mattamy Athletic Centre. First serve is scheduled for 8 p.m. TMU students receive free admission with their OneCard and all home games can be streamed on OUA.tv.
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