The Varsity Blues men’s volleyball team (5-6) came back from a first set disaster to defeat the visiting Waterloo Warriors (6-5) 3-1 (21-25, 25-16, 25-21, 31-29) in their first game of the new year.

Led by Steven Kung’s (Toronto) 21 kills and some solid defensive play from libero Jessi Lelliott (Kelowna, B.C.), the Varsity Blues bounced back from a less-than-stellar opening set to dominate the next two and then eventually grind out the fourth and final set 31-29 to take the match.

Player of the game Deagan McDonald, who returned to his starting spot for the first time since injuring himself in the first game of the season, was sensational at the net, setting up teammates and tallying 39 assists.

Receiving and service errors were among many things that didn’t go right for Toronto in the opening set, no more evident then in the final two points of the game as the Blues could not get a handle on the loose ball and then failed to get any return on Warriors service ace.

Thankfully, this would not be indicative of things to come as Kung and company would right the ship and come away with the 3-1 victory.

The second set got off to a rocky start and the Blues found themselves down 4-1, again allowing Waterloo’s rightside hitter Cameron Dunning (Calgary, Alta.) to tally two service aces.

With the score 8-3 for the visitors at the first technical timeout, the Blues defence came alive as Kung (Toronto) and middle Adam Palmer (Ottawa) would account for three consecutive blocks and tie the game at 12.

Palmer would again provide another huge lift with a fantastic fingertip dig, allowing Toronto rookie Kyle Konietzny (Toronto) an attack opportunity, which extended the home team lead to 20-14.

Waterloo had no response as the Blues tied the match 1-1.

In the third, Toronto jumped out to an early 8-4 lead. However, Waterloo found a way to respond and would soon cut into that lead, trailing 11-10 at the midway point of the set.

At the second technical timeout, the Blues had again extended their lead to four (16-12) but the gritty Warriors would claw their way back and get to within two (23-21). That would be as close as they would get as Toronto closed things out to take the third 25-21.

The fourth set proved to be the set of the match. The entire game was played within two points and neither side gave an inch. All players, on both squads, contributed in what would be the final frame of the game.

In the end, Palmer and Brad Pierik’s (Toronto) huge blocks, Lelliott’s jaw-dropping digs, and Kung’s monster kills were too much for the Warriors and the Blues would end the match with a wild 31-29 set and a 3-1 win.

Kung had a game-high 21 digs, while first-year transfer student Mike Manning (Vernon, B.C.) had seven. Palmer and Lelliott combined for 22 digs (12 and 10) and McDonald tallied 39 assists.

Warriors player of the game Tyler Vivian (Mitchell, Ont.) led his team with 12 kills, while Aaron Dam (Grimsby, Ont.) and Brett Campbell (Calgary, Alta.) notched 10 apiece. Andrew Thorpe had a game-high 40 assists to lead Waterloo.