TORONTO — The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men's volleyball team earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the Waterloo Warriors (16-25, 25-22, 25-20, 33-31, 15-12).

The win came in front of a packed MAC Court as TMU celebrated its long-awaited winter homecoming.

The Bold opened the match strongly, with Ross Buchanan delivering a heavy swing on the first point that the Warriors couldn't handle. The opening set remained tight early, with both teams trading points and TMU holding a slight edge.

Buchanan stood out in the opening frame, recording multiple kills and a service ace to keep the Bold in contention. However, Waterloo began to find its rhythm, capitalizing on scrambles and applying pressure at the net. The Warriors pulled away late, creating a gap the Bold couldn't close and taking the first set, 25-16.

TMU responded quickly in the second set. After another close start, the Bold built momentum midway through the frame, sparked by Day Westell. TMU opened a three-point lead and briefly extended it to four before Waterloo surged back to force a timeout.

The pause proved crucial. The Bold regrouped, steadied their play, and regained control. A key block from Buchanan helped TMU restore a two-point cushion, and a strong finish—sealed by a Westell block—gave the Bold a 25-22 set win to even the match.

TMU's offensive urgency was complemented by first-year libero Ethan Lau, whose calm and consistent play anchored the defence throughout the match.

"Ethan gets flown under the radar because he's not an attacker, but we can't do what we did without Ethan's service in defence and his calm stability," said head coach Niko Rukavina.

The third set swung back in Waterloo's favour. TMU fell behind early but clawed back to tie the score at 8-8 off a kill from Riley Donovan. Despite the push, the Warriors widened the gap again, aided by a rotation violation on the Bold, and closed out the set 25-20.

"We had to stick to the game plan," said Donovan. "Our game plan was solid—just play with confidence and aggression."

The fourth set delivered the turning point of the night. TMU jumped out to an early lead, with Buchanan firing a rocket past the Warriors. Momentum shifted back and forth as Waterloo fought to even the score, but the Bold responded with timely plays—a kill from Donovan and back-to-back finishes from Buchanan—to take a three-point advantage.

TMU refused to back down.

"We had that belief that we were going to win, and we were able to execute off that," said Bobby Tang. "We had to almost fabricate it out of nothing until it became real, and then we were able to build off that. Being able to do that in those pressure moments is something we needed."

At 24-23, Buchanan kept TMU alive with a clutch kill to force extra points and push the set beyond regulation. Tang flipped the lead at 30-29, and after a long rally capped by Declan Dunn's effort to keep the ball alive, Buchanan finished the frame with a precise kill to give TMU a dramatic 33-31 win.

"Everyone fought really hard," said Buchanan. "We may have missed a few too many serves, but that was the most fun set of volleyball I've ever played."

The shouts of the fans could be heard throughout the court.

"I just feel love and am really appreciative of them," said Tang. "I have nothing but love for everyone that showed up here and am truly grateful."

Riding the momentum, the Bold carried their energy into the fifth set. Buchanan continued to lead the charge with two kills and a service ace, while Westell added another finish at the net. Combined with a Waterloo error, TMU built an 8-5 lead they would not surrender.

Donovan and William Gimbert maintained the pressure down the stretch as the Bold closed out the set 15-12 to secure their first win of the new year.

"We want to make progress," said Rukavina. "We want to get better every week. We had a very specific plan."

The Bold will face the Warriors again on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 5:30 p.m. Students can attend for free with their OneCard.