Friday, February 5th 2010
Another weekend, another crucial set of games for Mac’s teams as the playoffs approach.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL: Friday @ Guelph (6:00 PM), Sunday @ Toronto (2:00 PM)
Mac hits the road for the final three games of their season. Nursing a small lead atop the OUA West, the Marauders’ meddle will be tested with matches against the 11-5 Gryphons and the 12-4 Varsity Blues. Mac handles the Gryphons 3-1 on Nov. 11, but the Blues triumphed 3-2 way back on Oct. 16. Every game counts at this point in the season, with five teams in the West divison alone having won 11 games so far. Home court will be huge in the playoffs, and Mac can lock it up with two wins this weekend.
Guelph boasts the no. 2 point getter in the OUA this season, with Kylen Van Osch having totalled 254.5 on the year. Things don’t get any easier on Sunday, as Toronto’s Heather Bansley leads the OUA with 5.19 points per game and a devastating 4.23 kills per game average. They’ll be quite the test for Mac’s Shannon McRobert, who still leads the OUA with a 1.26 blocks per game average.
Mac (14-2) leads the Waterloo Warriors (12-4), who fell 3-1 at the hands of the Marauders on Saturday, by two games for tops in the division. Waterloo gets 11-6 Brock and 6-9 Ottawa this weekend.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL: Friday @ Guelph (8:00 PM), Sunday @ Toronto (4:00 PM)
A chance for revenge on Friday and a little breathing room awaits on Sunday, with the Marauders taking on the 9-7 Gryphons and the 8-7 Blues.
Guelph knocked off Mac earlier this season in one of their two upset losses, cleaning up a 3-1 at the Burridge Gym on Jan. 9. No doubt Coach Dave Preston and the boys will be looking to send a message to the rest of the OUA that the CIS no. 5 Marauders are prepared for the playoffs.
Guelph’s Winston Rosser and Toronto’s always-powerful Steven Kung are no. 3 and no. 2 in the OUA in points per game (4.85 and 4.40 ppg, respectively). Again, a good match up for powerful hitters against an OUA blocks leader playing for McMaster. “Taped titan” Tyler Santoni leads the OUA in blocks and is coming off a dominant performance on Saturday vs. Waterloo.
Western, who is tied with Mac for tops in the OUA, gets the Kingston treatment this weekend, heading to Queen’s and their new arena on Saturday after a Friday “duel” with RMC (0-17 on the campaign)
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Saturday @ Brock (1:00 PM)
Will the road struggles continue for the 11-6 Marauders, or new All-time leading scorer Taylor Smith and her squad break out of the funk and try to catch 13-4 Western for a first round bye. Brock will be no easy match, posting 10-7 record thus far.
Mac has been pretty dominant at home this season, having beaten CIS no. 3 Windsor and the aforementioned Mustangs on home turf, but having fallen to some lesser squads on the road.
Smith rescued the maroon and grey last time these teams met, a 71-65 win on Jan. 13. Hitting a number of long-range bombs in the second half, Smith carried Mac to the win on the strength of a 22 point, 8 rebound, 6 assist, 3 steal performance. Another day in the life for T-Smith…
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Saturday @ Brock (3:00 PM)
Mac will be looking for their sixth straight win and sixth straight 80-plus game. having discovered a new ‘recipe’ for success in the new year.
When Mac took down the Badgers 89-67 on Jan. 13, it was the first coming out party for the new frontcourt starting lineup of Cam Michaud and Keenan Jeppesen. Michaud tallied a career high 26 points that night, and since then the small, speedy forward lineup has been on a tear.
Athletic matchup problems are posed by Brock’s Didi Mukendi, who won CIS rookie of the year last season, and Clinton Springer-Williams, who might be the best dunker in the league.
If the playoffs started today, Mac would host Brock in a first round match up. Both teams are jockeying for playoff position, with Brock trying to catch 9-8 Western for the 4th seed and a home playoff game, and McMaster trying to catch 12-5 Windsor for a first round bye.
I’ll be travelling with the teams and will file my game reports when I return to campus.
Tags: basketball, Keenan Jeppesen, men's basketball, men's volleyball, shannon mcrobert, Taylor Smith, Tyler Santoni, volleyball, women's basketball, women's volleyball
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