The nationally sixth-ranked Varsity Blues Men’s Volleyball team took their first steps toward the Forsyth Cup this past Friday, February 20. Following a strong Ontario University Athletics (OUA) regular finish of 18 wins and two losses, the second-seed Varsity Blues matched up against the seventh-seed Nippising Lakers. The teams’ previous two matches went the way of the Blues, 3–2 and 3–0 on November 21 and 22, respectively.
After a hard-fought three sets, the Blues fell to the Lakers 0–3 in a heartbreaking upset. The set scores were 17–25, 17–25, and 22–25.
What happened?
The first set saw both teams evenly matched, with neither side able to build a lead of more than three points. The Lakers were the first to break ground at 16–12 after a service error from the Blues.
Soon after, the Blues’ offensive system hit a roadblock. Lakers third-year middle blocker Benjamin Franz produced two stellar back-to-back and one-on-one blocks. Franz first denied a critical outside set which would have earned the Blues a break point, and then followed it up with another block on middle quick play to deny the side-out to make it 13–18.
Although the Blues fought hard to close up the point gap, the mounting pressure from the Lakers’ blocking unit led to the Blues uncharacteristically committing three more attacking errors. Unable to solve the blocking and defensive setup of the Lakers, the Blues dropped the first set 17–25.
In the second set, the Blues kept the opening points within striking distance at 7–9. But strong service pressure and incredible rally defence from the Lakers would put the Blues on the backfoot. On the back of fifth-year outside hitter Marc Marchand’s serve, the Lakers forged an eight-point lead to push the Blues back 8–16.
For the remainder of the set, the Blues could not find any opportunities to go on a scoring run. In turn, the Lakers happily traded side-out points until they closed out the second set with an eight-point differential at 17–25.
With their backs against the wall, the Blues played hard the entire third set by staying on even ground and maintaining parity up to 22–22. On the Blues’ serve, the Lakers secured a side-out point through Marchand, and with a follow-up defensive effort, the Lakers took one more point. In an attempt to stop the momentum, the Blues used their last timeout at match point, 22–24.
Coming out of the timeout, the Blues were able to make a relatively clean pass off of third-year setter Jack Svendsen’s serve to generate an attacking chance. But another defensive dig by the Lakers allowed Svendsen to set up third-year outside hitter Justice Smith for the final kill to close out the set 22–25 and match 0–3.
Fifth-year outside hitter Hunter Arulpragasam led the Blues with 11 kills and two blocks. Fellow senior and outside hitter Maxime Gratton followed with 10 kills, and second-year outside Iannis Toma rounded out the offensive leaders with five kills.
On the opposite side, Marchand and Smith led the Lakers with 13 and nine kills, respectively. Franz was also a notable contributor with a match-high five blocks and five kills.
What’s next?
The tough loss marks the end of the Blues’ playoff run and season; however, the outlook for next year remains positive. Over the past five seasons, the Blues have performed exceptionally well, and consistently placed in the top five of the standings. With only four seniors set to graduate (Bruce Su, Rylan Armstrong, Hunter Arulpragasam, and Maxime Gratton), the Blues look poised to maintain their status as a volleyball powerhouse and come back even stronger in the following season.
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