WINDSOR, ONT. — The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women's volleyball team fell to the Windsor Lancers in the second game of a back-to-back on Saturday afternoon at the Toldo Lancer Centre, 3-0.

In the two teams' previous matchup, the Bold fought hard but the Lancers held strong and took the match 3-0. Despite the final score hinting at a blowout, TMU was close to winning all three sets: each frame was a back-and-forth battle that finished with a score difference of five or less.

The first set on Saturday was no different. The score stayed close early, with both teams making some highlight plays. Back-to-back kills from Bold outside hitter Hannah Bellai helped give her team some momentum. 

Bellai finished the match with a team-high 9.5 points and eight kills. Her defence at the net helped keep TMU in their games against the 6-0 Lancers over the weekend, notching three blocks in both outings.

Eventually, Windsor managed to grow a four-point lead. Fighting to keep things close, Bold Head Coach Dustin Reid called a timeout.

After the timeout, Bellai was once again all over the stat sheet. She notched a kill, along with two double blocks with her teammate Rayanna Amos-Ross Fisher to bring the Bold some much-needed momentum.

The Lancers struck back, though, storming into a 5-0 run to gain a 23-16 advantage. Despite an honourable attempt at a Bold comeback, the set ended 25-19 Lancers.

The second set was a game of runs. Windsor kicked things off with an 8-3 lead, but TMU came right back to bring things within one at 9-8.

From there, the Bold used their positive momentum to drive a 5-0 run. They grabbed a two-point lead and forced a Windsor timeout. The sequence was led by some impressive play from second year middle Julia Breen, who notched 1.5 blocks and a kill.

Breen has impressed so far this season, leading TMU in blocks per set at 0.83. She finished with a career-high five blocks and four kills against the Lancers.

During a play later in the set, first year Bold setter Mattea Di Bacco managed to snag back-to-back digs on back-to-back Windsor attacks, the second of which she made whilst kneeling on the ground. Di Bacco's impressive reaction time allowed her team to recover from the attack and set up a kill for outside hitter Kaiya Krahn in a miraculous play.

Di Bacco's highlight didn't provide TMU with enough momentum to regain the lead, though, and the Lancers pushed forward into a 25-21 set win.

The Bold came out fighting in the third, kicking things off with a monstrous 11-3 lead. Third-year outside hitter Darcie Buchanan notched two service aces and a kill during the run.

But Windsor used their home crowd to their advantage, and slowly climbed their way back into things. A 17-4 run from the Lancers put the Bold down five, 20-15. 

The more-experienced Windsor team featured nine fourth and fifth year players, and were able to stay poised despite going down early in the frame.

The third finished 25-17 for the Lancers, ending the match at three sets to none.

After a strong start to the season, TMU's record now unfortunately falls to 3-3 and eighth in the OUA standings. 

The Bold will finally get to return to their home court after four straight away games, on Friday, November 21 for the start of a back-to-back series against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m., and students can enter the game for free with their OneCards.