The York University Lions men's volleyball team came up short in a four-set loss to the No. 6 nationally ranked Toronto Varsity Blues in their return to home court on Friday night at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
It was the second match of the night for the Subway Series, but it was the first time the Lions and the Blues faced off this season, and this game was nothing short of exciting.
The first set started off exhilarating, with the Blues gaining the first point of the match. But the Lions were not far behind as the gained a point from a serve error. At the beginning of the game, both teams were neck and neck until the Lions began to extend their lead with a serve ace by
Luke de Greeff followed by a Blues' attack error and a kill from
Andrew Tauhid.
Despite the Lions lead, the Blues came back to lead the Lions 23-21. An electrifying block from de Greeff and
Grant Lynch gave them a set point, but the Blues' earned tied it up again with a kill from Chris Towe. Minutes later, a kill from de Greeff followed by a Blues' attack error gave the Lions a 26-24 win in the first set.
In the second set, the Blues came out intense and built an early lead. A kill from Tauhid tied the score to give the Lions a chance and, like the first set, the score was close throughout. Eventually the Blues began to pull away with a series of points. A serve error from the Blues followed by an ace from de Greeff and Towe gave the Lions a chance to retake the lead, but the Blues took the second set 25-22.
The third set started the same as the previous one with the Blues gaining an early lead and maintaining the edge the entirety of the set and ended the third set 25-20 over the Lions.
In the final set, both teams were charged up. The Blues led until the final moments of the set. The Lions came back from a three-point deficit and continued to the fight tooth and nail on the court. A kill from Toronto's Evan Falardeau, followed by a Lions attack error, gave them the setpoint, and Falardeau ended it 25-21 to take the match.
Andrew Shotbolt scored the most number of kills with 13, earning 14 points, followed by de Greeff with 12 kills and 14 points and Tauhid with 10 kills and 14.5 points overall.
The Lions are 5-9 and sit outside the playoff picture in the OUA East. They are still in a battle for the last playoff spot in the division and play the team they are chasing, the Nipissing Lakers, in their next match at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Saturday night at 8pm.
