PETERBOROUGH, Ont. — The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women's volleyball team took down the Trent Excalibur in the first match of a back-to-back on Friday evening, 3-1.

TMU entered the match with a different starting lineup than usual–Kaiya Krahn, who's provincially eleventh-ranked in kills this season, started on the bench. The team instead went for a double-middle lineup, starting both Ayla Cross and Rayanna Amos-Ross Fisher.

The unique strategy got the Bold off to a hot start, as two kills and two blocked shots from Cross helped give them a 10-5 lead early in the first set.

Trent brought things back, though, storming into a seven-point run that regained them the lead.

But it was TMU who had the last laugh in the first. First-year setter Mattea Di Bacco logged a service ace before setting up a kill for Amos-Ross Fisher, who then followed the point up with an emphatic block.

Thanks to the momentum from those two, the Bold took set one 25-19.

The Excalibur came to play early in the second. After back-to-back errors from TMU were followed by back-to-back kills, it was Trent's turn to take a 10-5 lead. Bold Head Coach Dustin Reid was forced into a timeout.

Reid's squad has been fantastic at recovering from deficits this season, and the early timeout seemingly reminded them of that: a brutal kill from Cross set the tone for her team in the first point after the break, and soon things were tied up once again.

Cross had a career performance on the night. The second-year finished with five blocks and 10 kills, helping lead her team to an eventual win.

Things stayed close in the match until the end of the second. With the score 22-23 for Trent, Di Bacco notched yet another service ace – she'd finish the match having quadrupled her career high with four – to tie things up. 

Third-year outside hitter Tyra Krapp later scored another ace to secure a hard-fought second set for the Bold, 27-25.

Early in the third, the Bold found themselves the authors of a highlight play. A deep push shot into the corner forced a now-playing Krahn to dive out of bounds, making a miraculous save to Di Bacco who just barely managed to tip it back to Krahn for a clean pass back to the Excalibur's side. After another impressive dive from Di Bacco to keep the ball alive, a kill from outside hitter Hannah Bellai sealed the ridiculous point. 

Despite the highlight play, though, the score flipped back and forth in favour of both sides throughout the set. Krapp logged multiple kills throughout the period, but her efforts just weren't enough for TMU to pull away.

Eventually, Trent got into a rhythm and went on a 7-2 run. The Excalibur took the third set, 25-18.

The set loss seemed to wake up Reid's squad, as they came out stronger than ever in the fourth. Middle Julia Breen got things started with a powerful kill & block, followed by two straight service aces just a few points later.

After gaining a comfortable lead, the Bold cruised to a 25-15 set four win. Cross logged three more kills and a block in the period, adding to her career night.

With the 3-1 win in the match, TMU's record on the season improves to 5-4. They take on the Excalibur once again on Saturday afternoon, hoping to sweep their season series.

First serve for the matchup is set for 2 p.m., and fans can tune into the game live on OUA.TV.