The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's volleyball team notched their first victory over the Queen's Gaels since 2013, overcoming a two-set deficit to win 3-2 (21-25, 27-29, 25-20, 25-23, 15-13) on Saturday afternoon (Nov.3) at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.

TORONTO STATS: Fourth-year outside hitter Chris Towe led Toronto offensively, finishing with a team-high 18 points and kills, including five in the fifth set.
 
Third-year outside hitter Alex Barnes amassed 16.5 points from 15 kills and 1.5 blocks, adding 11 digs. Rookie outside hitter Evan Falardeau wracked up 14 points and kills, half of which came in the fourth set. Veteran middle Austin Valjas also led the Blues in the fourth set with five points, en route to 11.5 in the match.
 
Sophomore libero Daniel Tudor amassed a career-high 25 digs in the victory, while veteran setter Jordan Figueira tallied a career-high 55 assists and added 14 digs in the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED: The first set started out as a back-and-forth matchup. Queen's would get ahead and went into the technical timeout up 16-10. The Blues battled back, going on four separate three-point runs, but the Gaels took the first set 25-21.
 
Toronto came out energized in the second set and it proved to be a tight battle all the way through. U of T led the Gaels 16-15 at the technical timeout, but Queen's came back to take a 2-0 advantage, 29-27.
 
The third set followed suit and the Blues held a narrow 16-13 lead at the technical timeout. Toronto wouldn't look back, holding the lead to take the set 25-20.
 
Toronto continued their come back efforts in the fourth set, leading 16-14 at the technical timeout and forcing a fifth set with a 25-23 win.
 
U of T got out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth, but the Gaels went on a six point run, eventually leading 8-6 at the switch. The Blues kept their composure and battled back to secure the 15-13 victory.

MVB: The Blues battle back but the @queensgaels take the first set 25-21 over Toronto.

WATCH this Alex Barnes/Austin Valjas block! pic.twitter.com/Lw6oBvbpru

— U of T Varsity Blues (@Varsity_Blues) November 3, 2018

MVB: Toronto leading @queensgaels 16-15 at the second set technical timeout. Queen's with a 1-0 match lead.

WATCH this nice dig from Daniel Tudor and kill from Nick Trewern! pic.twitter.com/OZmMJ45EUT

— U of T Varsity Blues (@Varsity_Blues) November 3, 2018

MVB: @queensgaels take a 2-0 match lead with a narrow 29-27 second set win.

WATCH this Ian Burns block!

Third set coming up on https://t.co/0XtpbjfqRp! pic.twitter.com/Z11yUNwrTF

— U of T Varsity Blues (@Varsity_Blues) November 3, 2018

MVB: Toronto leading @queensgaels 16-13 at the third set tech timeout. Queen's has a 2-0 match lead.

WATCH this Chris Towe kill! pic.twitter.com/o1BZFCH0n5

— U of T Varsity Blues (@Varsity_Blues) November 3, 2018

MVB: Toronto takes the third set, 25-20, over the @queensgaels. Queen's with a 2-1 match lead.

WATCH this Evan Falardeau kill! pic.twitter.com/Xpfuz48wNC

— U of T Varsity Blues (@Varsity_Blues) November 3, 2018

MVB: Another close one here! Toronto leading @queensgaels 16-14 at the fourth set tech timeout. Queen's with a 2-1 match lead.

Evan Falardeau is pretty pumped! 👀 pic.twitter.com/vQSzZctzGw

— U of T Varsity Blues (@Varsity_Blues) November 3, 2018

UP NEXT: The Blues are back on the court tomorrow (Nov. 4) as they host the RMC Paladins. Opening serve is set for 2:00 p.m., at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.

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