PETERBOROUGH, Ont. — The Toronto Metropolitan University men's volleyball team defeated the Trent Excalibur in straight sets for their first win of the 2025-26 season on Friday evening, 3-0.

The matchup was the first of a back-to-back series between the teams in Peterborough this weekend. If its gameplay says anything about how Saturday is going to go, it's that things are going to be incredibly exciting.

Each of the game's sets had to go to extra points, with both the Excalibur and the Bold battling hard for every point. 

That energy kicked off in the first set, which was full of runs. TMU started with a 4-1 lead, but Trent quickly recovered to regain the advantage at 5-4. The Bold struck right back, though, climbing back up to go ahead 11-7. The run featured four kills from outside hitter William Gimbert.

The freshman Gimbert had his best performance of the season, notching 13 kills, two assists, and 13 points: all career-highs.

Despite his impact, the score stayed close. As the first neared its end, things were tied up at 24-24.

It was kill city in clutch time, as the teams traded five straight points to extend the set. Each point resulted in an impressive kill, erupting the crowd at the Trent Athletic Centre.

An Excalibur player finally broke the pattern with an attacking error, allowing TMU to pull ahead and take set one by a score of 28-26.

Things were a lot more sloppy to start the second set, with 10 of the first 18 points coming from either attacking or service errors. The players aimed for power over precision, and it resulted in some highlight kills and service aces – but also some misfires.

Nonetheless, the Bold were able to keep themselves in the set thanks to some accurate attacks from Gimbert, middle Aidan Suttie, and outside hitter Riley Donovan. The latter finished with seven kills and five digs in the match.

Things yet again came down to the wire, and TMU found themselves with their backs against the walls down 24-23.

The Excalibur let the pressure get to them, though, making three straight errors to hand the Bold set two with a score of 26-24.

Bold Head Coach Niko Rukavina and his squad weren't looking to have another close ending, as they dominated to start the third set. An early 8-3 lead forced an Excalibur timeout.

A few points later, freshman outside hitter Ross Buchanan delivered a devastating kill down the right sideline that Trent had no chance of reaching. The highlight play gave TMU a 10-7 lead.

Buchanan led the Bold statistically on the night, finishing with career highs of 14 points, 11 kills, and two blocked shots. He's notched double-digit kills in back-to-back matches with TMU.

Led by Buchanan's powerful play, the Bold cruised to a 23-17 lead and put the Excalibur on the ropes.

Trent's team fought their hardest to make things close, though, even tying things up at 23-23. The run put a scare into Rukavina's team, but they managed to hold strong. Another Buchanan kill helped them regain some momentum, and they took home the third and final set by a score of 26-24.

Coach Rukavina and the young squad will look to continue their newly-gained positive momentum and grab a second straight win against the Excalibur on Saturday afternoon.

First serve for the matchup is set for 4:00 p.m., and fans can tune into the game live on OUA.tv.