TORONTO – Only two words are really needed to completely understand what the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women's volleyball program is taking on in 2025.

Delivering and developing.

The two "parallel tracks" as Head Coach of the Bold Dustin Reid called it prior to Saturday's season-opening tilt with the Windsor Lancers, will take the program to its biggest competition all season as he and the rest of the Bold try to perform the balancing act that only select programs in the OUA have been able to pull off.  

The first part of that equation is an area of relevance and familiarity for the Bold. Fielding a starting lineup with the likes of graduated seniors Lauren Veltman, Mikayla Sherriffs and Ashley Ditchfield helped the Bold win 11 of their last 13 games in 2024. 

The veteran-led core seemed destined to deliver a deep playoff run, the complete opposite to a semi-final elimination to the Brock Badgers that became a bitter reality back in March. 

Powering their way to a 2-0 stranglehold in the match, the Bold came as close as three points to knocking off the best team in the province and advancing to the program's first OUA final in six years. 

"We genuinely played our best volleyball in that game and in those moments," said fourth-year senior Kylie Ferguson ahead of her final season with the Bold. Ferguson came off the bench multiple times in that match to help try and seal the deal for the Bold but came up short. 

"I want to put everything I can into getting us back to those moments."

The loss prematurely initiated the offseason for the Bold and kickstarted some heavy turnover within program's personnel. With the team losing more than half of their regular starters from last season to graduation, recruiting eight rookies to help round out their depth is the game plan that will look to define this new era of the Bold in 2025 and beyond.  

"Finding a way to get back in the mix and earn a chance to be in the playoffs is a big part of the challenge in front of us," mentioned Reid. 

The veteran manager is coming off of his busiest recruitment window since reeling in 10 first-year players coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. The overhaul proved to be successful, with a class featuring the likes of Feguson, Scarlett Gingera and Mary Rioflorido to name a few. 

All are expected to play pivotal roles on and off the court as fourth-years this season. 

TMU's youth injection will also be seen on the sidelines in 2025 with the addition of Julie Gordon as the team's lead assistant coach. Gordon enters the Bold's coaching carousel having played with the Bold as recently as March and brings experience from all levels of competition to help the blue and gold thrive.  

The 32-year old joined the Bold out of the holiday break last season and played a lively role in vaulting the team towards the top of the OUA standings. Her fiery energy instantly conceived a trust between herself and her teammates last season, an emotion that only amplified itself as she got behind the bench prior to the new campaign.  

"Her aggressiveness and her level of compete, the way she wants to win, she embodies that [mindset] in everything we do," said Ferguson, who only seven months ago, played in regular cycles with her new coach. 

The Bold's new faces have already become familiar facets as the program readies itself for the season ahead. With development being a must, writing off the team's ambition for a provincial championship has never been a thought in the first phase of TMU's on-the-fly rebuild. 

Reid feels the chase itself among his veteran players will help level the scale and develop the young players on his side while also instilling a motivation to do something bigger.

"For the veteran players from our team who did a taste of [success] last year, that's where they want to be. They want to be competing in those matches and that brings a lot of opportunities for our younger players to learn from chasing that."

"The coaching staff is doing a really good job of embodying our championship aspects while also recognizing that there's a lot of new players and it is a building year for the team," said Ferguson. 

Maximizing the duality of development and delivery will stay with Ferguson and the rest of the Bold all season, yet no matter which track the Bold chose to follow and dedicate their campaign towards, the program will ultimately be in a better position because of it.