TORONTO – A versatile attack helped land the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women's volleyball squad an upset win over the playoff-primed York Lions on Friday, taking down their city rivals by a 3-1 (26-24, 25-18, 25-11, 25-21) score.

Despite catching a snag in the third set, the Bold dominated the Lions on the offensive side of the ball to help put a much-needed end to their winter misfortunes. The group outhit the Lions handsomely throughout the match, nearly doubling their rival in kills and rounding out their attacking corps with a pair of hitters surpassing double digits to take the contest in commanding fashion.

"I'm just really proud of the way that we went out and took the game," praised Head Coach of the Bold, Dustin Reid, following the victory. "We didn't sit around and wait for our opponent to make mistakes."

Scarlett Gingera–set to play in potentially her final match with the Bold on Saturday–led the way with 15 kills, while Kaiya Krahn chipped in a set-high six of her 10 kills in the fourth frame to extinguish the Lions' fighting spirit.

Rayanna Amos-Ross Fisher scorched York's side of the court for a season-high eight kills to close out the penultimate home match of her first season with the Bold. 

"The team all came together in sets and just clicked today," said Amos-Ross Fisher following her season-best performance. "I think it [was] a team effort and I think we definitely wanted to end the season with a win," she added. 

The Bold pushed their noses in front of the Lions right off the hop, taking a 14-10 lead and later using the hands of five hitters to grow their advantage to 21-17. 

The Lions provided a timely response however, rallying together a 7-3 run to bring the set to a standstill at 24 apiece, a scare the Bold steered aside effortlessly by ringing off back-to-back points to draw first blood in the match.

The Bold geared up for another offensive push in the second set, using an early 5-1 run to break the frame open and maintain their position atop the visitors. Amos-Ross Fisher helped steal the life from the Lions defenders later on in the frame, coming up with a kill and a steady block on consecutive plays to build a five-point gap for her side and take an 11-6 lead. 

TMU added to their advantage with a 5-2 run midway through the set, featuring kills from three different hitters and a service ace to double up on the Lions at 16-8. York forged another late comeback however–a 6-2 run featuring two service aces–to bridge the gap to five points, but could not drift the Bold off a well-earned set victory to take a 2-0 stranglehold on the match. 

Flying high on both sides of the ball, most notably through their attacking scheme, the Bold hit a wall in the third, with errors chasing the home side around the court six times to allow the Lions to claw their way back into the match and take a 10-8 lead. 

The visitors added to their early surge on the very next play, taking the match's longest rally and stiffing the Bold out of a comeback bid with the ensuing momentum. 

The Lions followed their pivotal point with a pair of service aces from Brooklyn Parliament to begin pulling away from the Bold, adding a second 7-1 run in the frame to put the set to bed with ease and stay alive in the match by dominating every offensive category. 

"One thing about York, they're not going to beat themselves," said Reid. "They were able to be a bit more aggressive with their serving and get us in trouble more," he added. 

York's momentum would only stay in the third however, despite early offensive miscues forcing the Bold to play catch-up once again with the Lions, trailing 10-8.

In desperate need of a run that became standard practice for the Bold  in the opening two frames, Krahn propelled the Bold to an 11-10 lead with her second kill of the set, later adding a third as a decoration to a pivotal 7-0 and placing the Bold in the driver's seat. 

The Lions mustered a late comeback for the third time, their latest to the tune of a 5-2 run to claw their way within three points of TMU's lead. But as the Bold demonstrated in their pursuit of a 2-0 stranglehold in the match, failed to flinch and closed out the set by a 25-21 score to secure the win. 

The Bold will look to end the season off on a winning note with a second victory over the Lions on Saturday. First serve is set to fly at 1 pm, with Senior Day festivities set to proceed the afternoon contest. TMU students can attend for free with their OneCard.