Saturday, March 6th 2010

By Fraser Caldwell

The curse of the Gryphon continues for the McMaster Marauders.

After storming out to a two set lead, Mac faded down the stretch in last night’s OUA semi-final, paving the way for a miraculous comeback on the part of the visiting Gryphons (25-16, 27-25, 15-25, 21-25, 8-15). As Tyler Santoni’s attack was stuffed to put an end to the contest, the Marauders could only look on in horrified disbelief as their OUA title chances were mercilessly snuffed out.

The match began promisingly for the home side, who appeared galvanized by the near-capacity crowd that filled Burridge Gym. The Marauders were quick and organized on the attack, noticeably outclassing the Gryphons throughout the first set. The all-star combination of Santoni and Jeremy Groenveld was on form and firing freely, causing havoc for the Guelph defenders. The set would end with perhaps the rally of the match, with Josh Nederveen producing a breathtaking diving save before Josh Lichty killed well at net.

Mac carried its considerable momentum into the second frame, where they took an early lead thanks largely to the impressive play of Lichty. However, Guelph was not to be steamrolled, and they would cut the deficit to two points at the second technical timeout. Suddenly, there was nothing to choose between the two teams, and Guelph was defending admirably well in the face of constant Marauder pressure. Thankfully for the Burridge faithful, Mac would eke out the set when Santoni followed a deflected Groenveld kill with an absolute rocket up the middle, to give the home squad a commanding two set advantage.

At this point, the game seemed firmly in the grasp of the Marauders, who had been markedly outhitting the visitors throughout. But with momentum on their side, Mac would fatally let their form slip, and allow the Gryphons to steadily gain confidence.

The third set was a disaster, with the Marauders losing 11 of the first 14 points to all but guarantee a fourth. Where Mac had passed well and maintained a quick and effective attack rhythm throughout the first two frames, they completely fell out of sync in the third. In addition, the Marauder attack became increasingly congested, making the job of the Guelph blockers considerably easier. This showed itself on the scorecard, where the Gryphons ran away with the set by a comfortable 10 point margin.

In the fourth, McMaster had their best chance to seal the match, and will rue the way in which they squandered a solid early lead. After winning 6 of the first 7 points, Mac once again went to sleep at the wheel, and saw their advantage evaporate mid-set. As their attack fell into disrepair again, the Marauders were hampered by erratic defense as well, particularly that of the usually rock solid Nederveen, whose nose-diving level of play mirrored that of his team as a whole.

Mac rallied briefly in the later stages to bring the set within a point at 17-18 after Guelph dumped an attack at net, but this would be as close as they would get. Another late meltdown sealed the fourth for the Gryphons, which they wrapped up after a well-placed ace floated to the back corner.

With the match now entirely in the balance, Mac proved unable to recover their form, and Guelph put the finishing touches on a truly heartbreaking comeback. After finding the far corner with a cross court kill to bring up multiple set points, the Gryphons silenced the maroon-clad massess of Burridge by emphatically stuffing Tyler Santoni.

Cue a moment of entirely contrasting emotions. On one side of the net, the rural upstarts swarmed in a victorious pile up. On the other, the vanquished Marauders looked absolutely crushed.

Yours truly was fighting back some tears of his own.

Jeremy Groenveld was awarded bittersweet honours as McMaster’s player of the game, garnering 14 points and an impressive tally of 20 digs on the night, but crucially committing 15 errors as well. That statline embodies the Mac effort as a whole, which enjoyed many spectacular moments of skill, but was often mired in disorganization, misjudgment, and a sluggish pace. Tyler Santoni was the Marauders’ chief bright spot in the loss, with a game-leading total of 22 points. Santoni was typically ruthless at net, and enjoyed a consistency that his team sadly lacked.

The loss puts a sour end to the varsity careers of several Marauder players, who will be devastated by the manner of their defeat. But it was truly a banner season for the Marauder men, and provincial silverware or not, they represented the school exceptionally well. For that alone, the boys should all be commended.

Tags: jeremy Groenveld, Josh Lichty, men's volleyball, Tyler Santoni, volleyball