The Varsity Blues began their 2022 exhibition schedule Friday night in preparation for the upcoming OUA campaign.

Kicking things off at home, the Blues welcomed the Douglas College Royals from New Westminster, B.C., and in the end, went on to defeat the visitors 3-0 (25-21, 27-25, 25-18).

In the opening set, the Blues were able to establish a three to four-point cushion early on and carried that through much of the set.

In the middle set, neither side was able to pull away very much. Keeping it close, no lead was ever greater than two points up until the Blues went up 16-13. A push from Douglas College earned them a 24-23 set point, however, the Blues would go on to win four of the next five points to take a 2-0 lead.

In the final set, Toronto was able to create a cushion, much like they did in the first. This time though, they would push the advantage to as much as eight before winning the set 25-18.

With nine points each in the match, Evan Falardeau and Martin Licht led Toronto offensively. Setting up the Blues, Davis Young led the team in assists with 29. Defensively for Toronto, Daniel Tudor had a team-high six digs, and Hayden Cavender led the team in solo blocks with three.

The Blues will continue their exhibition schedule next weekend (Sept. 30 – Oct. 2) when they head to Humber College for a tune-up tournament.