The super-powered men’s volleyball team have put themselves in great shape to repeat as OUA champions. Last Thursday evening, they defeated the York Lions in the first game of a best-of-three championship series.
Anything short of a win would have come as a surprise, however, seeing as the Blues have defeated the Lions in all three of their meetings this season. In every case, U of T squeaked by with a 3-2 win over their cross-town rivals.
In the first game of the finals, the Blues were able to rally to beat the York Lions in three straight sets. The scores were: 25-16, 25-21, and 28-26 in a nail-biting final frame.
A large reason for the success was the play of four-time OUA All-Star Marc Arseneau. He slammed a game-high 18 kills down the throats of the Lions, who struggled to find ways to stop the man with the strong hands.
York had various chances to put the Blues away in the third set, having four set points starting at 24-19. However, U of T was able to wake up and apply the pressure, and the Lions eventually collapsed.
Guyanese-born middle-blocker Brian Sylvester made an impressive block for the Blues at the 27-26 point, to win the set and the match for his team.
The Blues “player of the game” title went to first-year student and OUA All-Rookie team member James Mackay. The second game of the series went down on Sunday night at York.
