The No. 5 Varsity Blues opened their 2022-23 regular season Saturday afternoon in Kingston, Ont. In what was a rematch of last year's OUA semifinal, the Blues were unable to replicate that result, falling 3-0 (7-25, 21-25, 22-25) to the No. 9 Queen's Gaels.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Following a back and forth start to the first set, the Gaels began to pull away. With Toronto trailing 6-5, the Blues were unable to slow down the home side as they went on to win 19 of the next 21 points to secure the first set.

Shaking off the opener, the Blues were able to build some momentum in the second. Getting kills from Hope Kotun and Olivia Zhu, while also taking advantage of some Queen's errors, Toronto was able to jump out to a 12-7 lead. The Gaels would battle back tying the set 13-13, and from there neither team was able to establish much of a lead. Going back and forth, the score sat tied 21-21 late in the set. After a Toronto service error, the Blues then dropped the next three points, falling 25-21.

Much like the first, the third set saw the Gaels establish a lead during the early stages. Going up 5-1 and later 20-10, Queen's appeared to be cruising to a three-set win. However, the Blues would not go quietly. Going on a 10-2 run, Toronto was able to pull within 22-20. Unfortunately, that was as close as the Blues would get though with Queen's going on to win the third set 25-22 and ultimately the match 3-0.

UP NEXT: The Blues will look to bounce back against Queen's on November 6 when they play the back half of the two-day doubleheader.