The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's volleyball team fell 3-1 (25-23, 14-25, 22-25, 19-25) to the No. 7 University of Alberta Pandas in their quarter-final match of the 2019 U SPORTS women's volleyball championship in Edmonton.

UP NEXT: Toronto will take on the Calgary Dinos in a consolation semifinal tomorrow (March 16) at 4:30 p.m. EST. 

LAST TIME OUT: In the last, and only time, these two teams met in a national championship, Toronto lost 3-2 to the Pandas in the semifinal of the 2015 national championship tournament held at the U of T.

TORONTO STATS: Fourth-year right side hitter Alina Dormann led the team with 17 points off of 14 kills and two aces, while second-year middle Jenna Whook tallied 16.5 points of her own on 12 kills and a team best three aces.

Libero Sophia Currier added a team-high 20 digs and first-year setter Hayley Goodwin had 42 assists in the loss.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Toronto opened the match with some impressive rallies to hold off the home team's counter attack.  After a taking a narrow one-point lead (16-15) into the first technical timeout, Toronto extended the lead to 19-16 and maintained that three-point cushion until Alberta made a final push. The Blues would hold on to close it out, winning 25-23.

Unfortunately, unforced errors and net violations plagued the Blues throughout the second set and the Pandas took advantage of every opportunity to take control and power their way to a quick 25-14 decision.

The third set was a back-and-forth affair throughout and tied at 15. The Blues were again called for a net violation, pushing the home squad's lead to four points, 20-16, after the technical timeout. Toronto came back to pull within two, 20-22, following a Dormann tip at the net but that was as close as they got.

Toronto started off the fourth set with a quick 5-1 burst and seemed to have the Pandas on their heels until three Blues errors gave way to an Alberta run. The Blues maintained control of the match and led 14-9 midway through the set. The Pandas mounted a comeback, however, and clawed their way back to take a slight one-point advantage into the technical timeout. Toronto couldn't slow down the attack following the break and would fall 19-25. 

2018-19 U SPORTS Women's Volleyball Championship

Friday, March 15 (Quarter-finals)
UBC 3, Trinity Western 2
Dalhousie 3, Montreal 0
Alberta 3, Toronto 1
Ryerson 3, Calgary 0

Saturday, March 16
Consolation Semifinal 1: Trinity Western vs Montreal, 3 p.m. EST
Consolation Semifinal 2: Toronto vs Calgary, 4:30 p.m. EST
Semifinal 1: UBC vs Dalhousie, 8:30 p.m. EST
Semifinal 2: Alberta vs Ryerson, 10 p.m. EST

Sunday, March 17
Consolation Final, 2 p.m. EST
Bronze Medal Match, 5 p.m. EST
Gold Medal Match, 8 p.m. EST