TORONTO — The Toronto Metropolitan Bold (TMU) Bold men's volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 29-27) to the No. 7 nationally ranked University of Toronto (U of T) Varsity Blues, closing out their Subway Series matchup.

The opening set was close from the start. After the Varsity Blues captured the first point, a kill followed by a block from Ross Buchanan allowed the Bold to briefly take the lead. The teams traded points throughout the set, with neither side able to pull away early.

Ross Buchanan built on his great performance from yesterday, recording 10 kills and three blocks in today's game.

"He's very physical and he is using his physicality well," said head coach Niko Rukavina. "I thought he had a really good game yesterday. There are still a lot of things to work on around his game, but his offence has been really good and I was really impressed with him today."

Midway through the set, TMU found their stride. Attack errors from U of T combined with a kill from Riley Donovan erased their two point deficit and gave them a short-lived two point lead.

Despite keeping the score close, the Bold dropped the first set 25-21.

The Bold regrouped, and came out strong in the second frame, taking a three-point lead right away. Kills from Day Westell and William Gimbert—both assisted by Declan Dunn—along with an attack error from the Varsity Blues, gave TMU their lead

The Bold kept this positive momentum going through the first half of the set, forcing the Varsity Blues to call an early timeout at 10-4.

Following the timeout, service errors from the Bold allowed the Varsity Blues to slowly chip away at the Bold's lead. Consistency proved to be the difference as the Varsity Blues regained momentum and closed out the second set with a repeat 25-21 score. 

"We just have to clean up a little bit," said Rukavina. "I think we have some highs and some lows and how do we get a bit more consistent and U of T is a good consistent team like that so we can follow in their footsteps a bit,"

The third set delivered the most excitement of the afternoon. The Bold kept the score tight until the Varsity Blues edged ahead. Down 19-15, TMU recovered their composure and  fed off one another's energy to tie things up, playing a back and forth one point game until eventually taking the lead 24-22. However, U of T was able to force the set into an overtime thriller.

Despite the Bold having a one point lead, U of T turned things around taking the set 29-27, closing out the match 3-0.

Next up the Bold will play the Waterloo Warriors as part of Winter Homecoming on Friday Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. Students can attend the game for free with their OneCard.