No. 8 Blues earn third straight win

The No. 8 nationally ranked University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's volleyball team earned a third straight victory with a straight sets sweep of the Trent Excalibur in Peterborough on Friday (Jan. 9) night.

Set scores in the match were 25-23, 28-26, 25-18.

Toronto made quick work of Trent in the first match of back-to-back outings in Peterborough over the weekend. As a team, Toronto hit over .200, applied consistent pressure from the service line, and limited Trent's offensive rhythm as the match progressed.

Fifth-year outside hitter Hunter Arulpragasam led all players on the night with 19 total points from a strong overall game featuring 14 kills, three service aces and two service aces. Additional offence for the Blues cam from a 13 point outing from fellow fifth-year outside hitter Maxime Gratton and an eight point night from second-year standout Iannis Toma.

Guiding the Blues offence was fourth-year setter Michael Hickey who tallied 28 assists in the win. Defensively, fifth-year libero Rylan Armstrong topped the team with eight digs.

Kevin Bowes led the Excalibur with a team-high 13.5 points from six kills, two aces, four solo blocks, and three block assists.

The Blues and Excalibur will rematch tomorrow afternoon. First serve from Peterborough is set for 4 p.m. with the match streamed live on oua.tv.