TORONTO – The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women's volleyball squad fell in a straight-set defeat (20-25, 19-25, 26-28) to the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday.
Trailing 2-0 in the match, the Bold looked poised for a comeback in the late stages of the third set, manufacturing an explosive 6-1 run - their longest of the match - to lead the Gryphons 20-14.
TMU's fortunes quickly changed however, as their six-point cushion built upon the foundation of hard work and a vigilant offensive showing from Darcie Buchanan, became obsolete.
A 9-2 run by the Gryphons put the visitors in the driver's seat and two points away from taking the third frame - a feat they later accomplished in extra points with a 28-26 win.
"We didn't play well after 20," said head coach of the Bold, Dustin Reid, following the loss. "We made some mistakes and we let our opponent get a little bit of separation and couldn't cut it," he added.
TMU's late-set struggles allowed the Gryphons to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the match and push the Bold to the brink of a second straight-set defeat in the last 24 hours.
The blue and gold clawed their way back from an early deficit in the opening set to trail Guelph 16-15 but were unwound by errors on the baseline and attack to hand their opposition a 25-20 win.
The group brought a more admirable fight in the middle frame, keeping the Gryphons from exceeding a three-point cushion and knotting the set up on seven different occasions. Despite staying in limbo with the Gryphons, TMU failed to find the offensive production to throw them into the lead, opening the door for a late 7-1 by the visitors to extinguish their spirits once more.
"It's tough that the players don't get to feel some type of fulfillment from that, some type of confidence building from that," commented Reid on the frustrating sets in which his side were unable to be the beneficiary of on Saturday.
Guelph's Jordan Vang was the primary dealer of TMU's frustration in the loss, leading the floor with 14 kills–six of which coming in the final set to fuel her side's late comeback bid.
The Bold rallied around their two main hitters in Scarlett Gingera and Kylie Ferguson, both pacing the home side with nine kills. First-years Ayla Cross and Rayanna Amos-Ross Fisher helped the Bold win the net battle with a trio of blocks each in the losing effort.
The group head into next weekend's road matchup with the Nipissing Lakers with positives to take from their two-game sweep at the hands of the Gryphons.
The Bold did not fall short of a fighting effort across all six of their sets on the weekend and saw forward progression from young hitters including Buchanan, Cross and Amos-Ross Fisher.
Still, the hunger for their first victory of 2025 remains for Reid and the rest of his side as the season begins to narrow in on a close.
"It's not a time of the season where you can sit back and say, hey, we're happy with the performance and it didn't work out in the result. We need some results here," said Reid.
TMU will take on Nipissing on Friday. First serve flies at 6 p.m. and can be viewed on OUA.tv
