TORONTO — The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women's volleyball team fell to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues at the Goldring Centre on Friday evening: 25-18, 27-25, 25-19.

Despite the Bold entering the game on a two-game losing streak and the Varsity Blues having won their last two matchups, things stayed relatively even throughout the first set.

The teams traded highlights early on, one of which was a smartly-placed kill off of a running, one-foot jump from Bold outside hitter Hannah Bellai. The play brought some cheers from the away crowd, as TMU fans had travelled across the city to support their squad.

Bellai was key for the Bold, keeping her squad in the game with resilient attacking and on-court communication. She led the team with seven kills on the night, along with 15 digs.

To counter Bellai's strong play, the Varsity Blues relied on their provincially fourth-ranked attacking efficiency to create success. Powerful and aggressive attempts at the net forced the Bold into some weak returns.

That advantage helped Toronto to develop a six-point lead, prompting a timeout from Bold Head Coach Dustin Reid.

"Toronto is a team that doesn't disguise how they play," Reid explained, "but they have a really high level of execution."

Despite Reid's squad fighting valiantly to make the set close again, the Varsity Blues maintained their lead and took the first set, 25-18.

TMU didn't let up in the second, though, again keeping things close. A three-point run early in the frame gave them the lead and forced a Varsity Blues timeout.

A standout from the Bold's defensive efforts was Tyra Krapp, who played libero in the match despite being listed as an outside hitter. 

"We've been balancing roles between liberos," explained Reid when asked about the switch, "Tyra has played a little bit of everything this year–in the front row and the back row. She really helped our serve receive early in the match, and we decided to go with her in the second and third sets. She was terrific."

Krapp led the team with 18 digs, providing pivotal defence against the aggressive Varsity Blues attacking.

With their newly-assigned libero helping them out, the Bold managed to make things exciting at the end of the second. Down 23-20, back-to-back kills from outside hitter Rian Lenarduzzi and Bellai forced their opponents into another timeout and brought the set to extra points. 

Toronto's offensive pressure was just too much to handle, though, and they eventually squeaked out a win in the set, 27-25.

"There were too many times where Toronto decided to play the ball a little more accurately or a bit soft: tips, rolls, things like that," reflected Reid, "we let those score too often."

That offensive pressure from the Varsity Blues kept up in the final set, as they gathered a five-point lead early and held onto it for a majority of the frame.

With their backs against the walls, the Bold dug as deep as they could for a valiant effort to fight back and make things exciting. Despite being on the verge of defeat down 22-15, they kicked it into high gear and logged a 4-2 run before eventually conceding the set, 25-19.

Reid was proud of the effort, even with the unfortunate result:

"I think that's a real positive we can take from the game. We had a good level of spirit and really battled as a team throughout. There was no point where we were feeling sorry for ourselves or feeling like there was no path towards success. That's a really good step for us."

The fiery Bold squad, now 6-7 on the season and tenth in the OUA standings, face the Varsity Blues again on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. Fans can tune into the game live at OUA.tv.