TORONTO – Kaiya Krahn's career-best offensive output couldn't lift the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women's volleyball squad over the McMaster Marauders on Saturday in a 3-1 (20-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-14) home defeat.
Krahn was instrumental in TMU's fight for revenge after falling to the Marauders in straight sets on Friday, adding a service ace, 10 digs and a career-best 17 kills to continue her hot start to the new year.
Her memorable performance was unable to shield the thwarting attacking duo of McMaster's Angelika Vidmar and Olivia Julien however, with both blitzing TMU's side of the court for 16 and 13 kills respectively to lead their side to victory.
Their dominance was the only component of McMaster's game that carried over from Friday's lopsided victory, as the group struggled to break past the Bold's fighting spirit from the very first serve of Saturday's contest.
A pair of kills and a service ace from Krahn helped build a 7-5 lead for the Bold in the early goings of the opening set. The Marauders fired a quick response, piecing together a 4-0 run to force head coach of the Bold Dustin Reid into his first timeout of the match with his side trailing 9-7.
The Bold stayed within arms reach of the Marauders until the set's late stages, outdueling one of the league's premier baseline units to extinguish the part of McMaster's game that helped the Hamilton side pull away from the Bold the night before.
The visitors managed to beat the Bold ten times on their serve on Friday, but found themselves losing the battle and enduring a trio of service aces to hand the Bold a 19-18 lead. A 5-0 run however helped McMaster take a healthy lead and eventual victory in the first set.
The Marauders were able to recover from an early onslaught in the second set as well, using a 7-4 run late in the second set to take a 22-18 lead. Julien fueled the charge with a trio of kills to pull the Marauders in front, later adding a timely fourth to secure another 25-20 victory for her side.
With their backs against the wall for a second time in as many nights, the Bold were able to utilize their depth to help wiggle their way back into the contest.
Hannah Bellai came off the bench early in the third set and immediately inserted herself into TMU's attack, knocking down five kills from the perimeter while boasting an impressive .571 hitting percentage in the process.
The Bold never trailed once in the set, ending the frame with a the type of run (6-2) that has eluded the group since returning from the holiday break to cut the score in half.
The momentum failed to carry over to the fourth set however, as the Marauders capitalized on an early opportunity to find some much-needed life to help put away their tenth victory of the season.
McMaster's Emma McKinnon rattled a kill off the arms of Darcie Buchanan to end the longest rally of the afternoon and take a 3-2 lead. Both sides traded turns with the ball in a memorable competitive display that left both sides out of breath and more importantly, awarded the Marauders all the energy they needed to close out the win.
TMU cut their deficit to 12-10 later on in the set, but a 5-0 run from the visitors widened the gap to seven points that proved to be a battle too mighty for the Bold to overcome.
The group will be back in action next Friday when they begin a two-game set with the Guelph Gryphons at home.
First serve flies from the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) at 6 p.m as TMU look to break free from a seven-game losing skid. Students can attend the game for free with OneCard.
