Ranked fourth in the country, the Toronto Varsity Blues put on an entertaining volleyball match against the Brock Badgers. Sunday’s match pitted two of the OUA’s best against each other, with Brock undefeated and sitting atop the west division, and Toronto in second place in the east.

It was back and forth game which went all five sets before the Varsity blues squeaked out a victory, extending their win streak to six and handing the Badgers their first defeat of the season. Nearly every player in the game deserved to be named player of the game, but one that stood out was veteran hitter Alina Dormann, who put up 11 kills for the Blues. Third-year Jenna Woock was also an important figure in the victor, as she led the game with 10 blocks, being the defensive president for Toronto.

The game was very interesting in the way it played out. Rather than a close game through every set, all but the fifth set was won by at least four points. This is a rarity in volleyball, as usually, a team will gain control of the game, but that was not the case on Sunday afternoon.

All aspects of the Blues game were very important, with the defensive efforts proving to be the difference. In conjunction with Woock’s blocks, Asli Ersozoglu chipped in with 14 digs during the game. The combination of the two led the Blues to three defensively solid sets of volleyball, and a valuable victory.

Despite the loss, the Badgers remain at the top of their division and the Blues in second. Next week will be a very big test for Toronto, who visit their downtown rivals Ryerson University, who are ranked number one in Canada. If Toronto is able to scratch out another gutsy win, they will have put all of U Sports on notice that they could be in the conversation for the national championship.

Cover photo: Azadeh Kashani