The No. 6 nationally ranked University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's volleyball team enters the 2026 OUA men's volleyball playoffs as the second seed, beginning their quest for the Forsyth Cup this coming Friday (Feb. 20) in an OUA quarter-final showdown versus the seventh seeded Nipissing Lakers at Goldring Centre.
 
Since the winter break, the Blues dropped only one of 12 matches to finish the regular season with an 18-2 (W-L) record, tying with Windsor but placing second due to tiebreaker. Toronto have been dominant offensively recording the most total points from the most total assists of any team in the province this season. Both fifth-year outside hitters Maxime Gratton and Hunter Arulpragasam ranked in the OUA Top 4 in kills per set and points per set, while fourth-year setter paced the Blues offence with the second best mark in the OUA in assists per set. The offensive depth goes even further though as second-year duo Iannis Toma and Luka Minic have added even more options at the net. Meanwhile, U of T's defence featured six players registering 20 or more blocks and five recording over 100 digs, showcasing the all-around ability of this 2025-26 iteration of the Varsity Blues.
 
With an 11-9 record, the Nipissing Lakers enter the OUA postseason as the seventh seed. Despite not winning more than three matches in a row at any point throughout the season, Nipissing have claimed som impressive victories this season including a three set sweeps of TMU and Brock, and five set wins versus Queen's, Waterloo, and Western. The Lakers strength is their size, seeing both middles Trent O'Brien and Benjamin Franz ranks as the Top 2 blockers in the province this season. Libero Xavier Legace also played a key role in extending rallies, finishing fourth in the OUA in digs per set.

Toronto earned back-to-back wins over Nipissing in November this season, and have claimed four of the last five matches between the two teams.
 
SCHEDULE
Friday, Feb. 20 | 7 p.m.
Goldring Centre
Live Stats
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2025-26 REGULAR SEASON STAT LEADERS
Toronto
Points: Maxime Gratton | 340 points
Kills: Hunter Arulpragasam | 285 kills
Blocks: Luka Minic | 46 blocks
Assists: Michael Hickey | 803 assists
Digs: Hunter Arulpragasam | 196 digs
 
Nipissing
Points: Marc Marchand | 265 points
Kills: Marc Marchand | 235 kills
Blocks: Trent O'Brien | 66 blocks
Assists: Jack Svendsen | 678 assists
Digs: Xavier Legace | 170 digs
 
HISTORY
Last Five Games:
Nov. 22, 2025 | Toronto 3, Nipissing 0
Nov. 21, 2025 | Toronto 3, Nipissing 2
Nov. 25, 2023 | Nipissing 3, Toronto 0
Nov. 24, 2023 | Toronto 3, Nipissing 0
Feb. 25, 2023 | Toronto 3, Nipissing 1 (OUA QF)