Offensive fire power on display in road win over Trent

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's volleyball team earned a four-set victory over the Trent Excalibur on Friday (Jan. 9) night inside the Trent Athletics Centre Gym in Peterborough.

Set scores in the match were 23-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-12.

Toronto faced early resistance from Trent, dropping the initial first set. However, as the match progressed so did the Varsity Blues attack. U of T settled into rhythm in the second set, tightening up defensively and capitalizing on long rallies to pull away late. Momentum clearly shifted in Toronto's favour and by the fourth set, Toronto fully asserted control, cruising to their largest margin of victory with a 13-point advantage in the final frame.

A complete team effort, the Blues had four different players register eight or more points in the four set contest. Second-year standout Julia Liu led the Varsity Blues offensively with a team-high 16 points from 14 kills and two service aces. Veteran outside hitters Olivia Zhu and Giulia Chimilovksi added 14 and 13.5 points, respectively. At the net, Thea Ziesmann anchored Toronto's block, recording a team-best four solo blocks and one block assists, while adding three kills and one ace to secure 8.5 points.

First-year setter Marina Gustke directed the U of T offence with a team-high 26 assists and added a team-leading three service aces. Defensively, Zhu register 18 total digs while Liu notched 13 and third-year libero Delaney Watson added 12.

Trent was paced by Kathryn Beresford who finished the night with 16 points from 14 kills and two aces. Beresford also led the Excalibur's defensive efforts with 16 total digs.

The Blues and Excalibur will be right back in action from Peterborough tomorrow (Jan. 10) afternoon. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m., with all the action set to be streamed live on oua.tv.