TORONTO – The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women's volleyball squad fell to the Waterloo Warriors on Friday in a 3-0 (10-25, 22-25, 19-25) defeat at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).

Waterloo's Avery and Adyson Kelly shined for the visitors to help secure their side a straight-set victory over the Bold, capping the night off with 11 kills and a career-high 34 assists respectively to claim the route. 

Rachael Meilikhan paced the floor with 12 kills and helped the Warriors pull away from the Bold in the third with a 2-0 stranglehold already in their possession. Eight hitters picked up a kill for the Bold in the loss, with Scarlett Gingera leading the pack with six. 

TMU were able to rebound after suffering their worst defeat of the season against the Warriors in the first set (25-10). The home side failed to string together any momentum on the offensive side of the ball and were unable to dig themselves from an early 16-4 rut that ultimately allowed the Warriors to take a 1-0 lead in the match with little obstruction. 

The Bold matched their total kill output (5) from the opening set to take a commanding 7-2 lead over the Warriors in the middle frame and help shift the game's momentum back into balance. 

Waterloo's Avery Kelly landed her first kill of the set to stop the bleeding at 9-4, sparking a 5-0 run for the Warriors in the process to pull within a single point of the Bold. 

The blue and gold emphatically clapped back with a run of their own that featured Hannah Bellai secure a 16-11 lead for her side by claiming a point on a rally stretching north of a minute in length. 

With the home crowd on their feet, Jia Lonardi accomplished a similar feat only a few plays later to recover TMU's five-point cushion via another prolonged rally. 

The Bold looked primed to pull away from the Warriors–having claimed points in each of the sets longest rallies– but struggled to put the visitors to rest. 

Staying within arms reach of the Bold, the Warriors finally broke through late in the set with a 7-1 run inspired by a trio of kills from Avery Isaacs to take a 22-21 lead. The group tacked on another three-unanswered points to secure their come-from-behind win and stun the Bold. 

The two sides held one another in check for much of the final frame before Waterloo found their rhythm to pull away from the Bold once more. Leading 17-15, the visitors rang off a 4-1 run to take a five-point lead into the late stages of the third. 

The Warriors failed to let up despite a lengthy on-court delay between the officials, hammering home the nail in TMU's coffin with a 4-0 run to close out the match. 

The two sides will battle things out once more before the weekend comes to a close, meeting at the MAC on Saturday for a 12 p.m. contest. TMU students can attend for free with their OneCard.