The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s volleyball team defeated the winless RMC Paladins in three sets this afternoon.
The Blues started off slow against the Paladins, but managed to dominate the final set. Head coach John Barrett felt that the Blues, “played well at moments and then not so great at others. We managed to almost get everyone on the roster playing time. I was happy overall with the performance.”
The first set featured recurring lead changes with the Blues eventually winning 25–20. The second set featured more of the same back and forth action from the Blues and Paladins.
However, staying close to the superior Blues was not enough for Paladins coach Steve Leknois, who took a timeout with the score 23–19 in favour of the Blues. During the timeout, Leknois was seen berating his players. The Paladins didn’t notch another point after the timeout and lost the set 25-19.
In the third set, the Blue took over and completely dominated the Paladins. A reeling RMC fell apart, and lost 25-9.
Barrett didn’t think that the Blues’ dominance in the final set had to do with any particular adjustments that the team made: “We kept playing at the same level. RMC just broke down there a little bit as far as there execution. I thought our executed well, which made it difficult for RMC.”
The Blues earned a much-needed win to improve their record to 3–6 for the season, as well as stay in the run for a playoff berth.
