The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's volleyball team is vying for their first Forsyth Memorial Trophy since 2004 as they head to Kingston, Ont., for the OUA Final Four, March 9-10.

The Blues placed third in the OUA East division (12-6) and upset the West's No. 2 seed Western Mustangs to notch their first playoff victory in 15 years last weekend.

Toronto is set to take on the host Queen's Gaels (15-3) in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. The Gaels, who finished first in the OUA East, narrowly escaped the Guelph Gryphons, 3-2, in quarter-final action last Saturday.

The six-time reigning OUA champion McMaster Marauders will face the Windsor Lancers in the other semifinal on Saturday. The two semifinal winners will automatically advance to the 2019 U SPORTS championship, March 15-17, in Quebec City. However, with two wildcard berths available into this year's national championships, the bronze-medal match could prove to be vital to keeping a team's season alive for another week.

The Blues and Gaels split the regular season series 1-1. Toronto took the first match, 3-2, on home court, before dropping a 3-1 decision on the road.

Third-year setter and 2019-19 OUA first team all-star Jordan Figueira is the conductor for the Blues offence. He averaged 9.94 assists per set during the regular season and posted a game-high 42 assists in the quarter-finals. A big reason for the lethal arsenal the Blues contain is because of the Oakville, Ont., native.

The two pieces Figueira feeds the most are outside hitters Chris Towe and Evan Falardeau. Both averaged over 3.14 kills and 3.6 points per set.

Another big reason for Toronto's success is their defence. Led by second-year libero Daniel Tudor and Figueira, the team ranked second in the OUA with 10.30 digs per set.

Queen's top player is fourth-year outside hitter Zac Hutcheson. He sits in the top five in kills per set (3.64), points per set (4.4) and hit percentage (.312). In the Gaels quarter-final match, Hutcheson unleashed a career-high 24 kills and ended with 27 points.

OUA Final Four
Hosted by Queen's University at the Athletics & Recreation Centre

Saturday, March 9
1:00pm – OUA Semifinal #1 – Windsor vs McMaster
3:00pm – OUA Semifinal #2 – Toronto vs Queen's
 
Sunday, March 10
1:00pm – OUA Bronze Medal Match – Loser of Semifinal #1 vs Loser of Semifinal #2
3:00pm – OUA Gold Medal Match – Winner of Semifinal #1 vs Winner of Semifinal #2