The No. 9 University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's volleyball team thrilled the home crowd with a five set victory over the Nipissing Lakers on Friday (Nov. 21) night inside the Goldring Centre – Kimel Family Field House.

Set scores in the match were 25-23, 13-25, 25-19, 18-25, 15-13. The win pushed the nationally ranked Blues to a record of 6-1 on the season, with four wins now coming in five set contests. Toronto remain near the top of the OUA standings as one of four teams with only a single loss or undefeated record so far.

In their first home contest following six straight road games to begin their 2025-26 OUA campaign, the Varsity Blues delivered excitement for a packed house at Goldring Centre. The home opener would be pushed to five sets thanks to several momentum shifts, with the home-side Blues carrying it through a closely contested first set. However, Nipissing would utilize a 9-0 service run to open the second frame, converting the early advantage into a 12-point victory in the set. After the break, U of T reclaimed the edge as second-year outside hitter Iannis Toma strung together several strong kills through the middle of the third set before fifth-year outside hitter Maxime Gratton secured the set with a consecutive service ace and kill. The Lakers would once again respond though, forcing a fifth set thanks to continued dominance at the net, finishing the night with eight solo blocks and two block assists as a team.

In the fifth and deciding set, Nipissing was able to jump ahead early building an 8-6 lead at the switch. The Blues would not be denied the home opener win though as they battled back and Gratton once again delivered the set win with a solo block and back row kill on the final two points.

Gratton finished the night with a match-high 23 total points from 20 kills, one ace, one solo block and two block assists. Four total Blues finished with double-digit points as fellow fifth-year outside hitter Hunter Arulpragasam ranked as the second highest U of T total at 17.5. Fourth-year setter Michael Hickey totaled 44 assists in the victory, while first-year libero Jeffrey Kladko led the team defensively with 14 digs.

For the Lakers, Zander Kasunich registered a team-high 20 points finishing with 18 kills and two service aces. Trent O'Brien also impressed with a strong performance at the net, recording five solo blocks to go along with 13 kills.

The Blues and Lakers will be right back on the court tomorrow (Nov. 22) afternoon. First serve for the match is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tickets for Varsity Blues home games are available at varsityblues.ca/tickets, while all U of T home volleyball matches are streamed live and on-demand via oua.tv.