LONDON, Ont. – Despite stringing together a composed final set, the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women's volleyball squad were unable to upset the No. 10 ranked Western Mustang on Friday in a straight-set defeat (23-25, 20-25, 22-25) to kick off the new year.
The Bold managed to fire off hot starts in all three of their sets at Alumni Hall but were unsuccessful in breaking up the momentum of the home side once their opponent shifted their offense into gear.
Second-year Kaiya Krahn showed signs of carrying the successes of her sophomore season into 2025 by leading the Bold in kills to help jump to a 13-8 lead in Friday's opening set.
Western were able to respond however, as veteran middle Claire Stewart and her teammate Ava Ebert settled into a groove of their own to combine for three kills and as many blocks to secure a come-from-behind win and close out the first set with a 9-5 run.
The two middles ranked second and third in the OUA in blocks per set heading into Friday's contest and were able to flex their net-front strength to pull the Mustangs over the line.
TMU were able to build another lead of theirs in the second set as well, only to watch Western heat up and flip the momentum of the game once more. Leading scorer Emma Buntic chipped in a pair of integral kills to fuel her side's 10-3 run and take 13-11 lead midway through the middle frame.
Once again, the Bold struggled to break up the momentum of their nationally-ranked opponent, who only needed to string together a few points to take the set and push the Bold to the brink of defeat.
In dire need of a run of their own to help carve into Western's lead, the Bold were able to stay in limbo with the Mustangs throughout the third and keep the home side from pulling away.
Their fortunes would later change in the closing moments of the set however, as Rachel Gray's kill paired with a Bold attacking error ultimately sunk the visitors by a 25-22 score and secured a straight-set victory for the Mustangs.
Gray finished the night leading the court in kills with 13, including eight digs and a service ace to help earn the Mustangs their tenth win of the season. TMU's Rayanna Amos-Ross Fisher chipped in five kills and a pair of service aces from the baseline in her first trip to Western. Scarlett Gingera led the Bold with ten kills.
The blue and gold will look to build off of the hot starts to each of their three sets when they take on the Mustangs in a rematch from Alumni Hall on Saturday. First serve is expected to fly at 2 p.m.
