Thursday, March 4th 2010

By Fraser Caldwell

FRASER CALDWELL

SILHOUETTE STAFF

The season could not have ended on a more heart-breaking note for the McMaster Marauders’ women’s volleyball team. After a dominant season which had seen them claim top spot in the OUA and become Ontario’s only entry in the CIS national rankings, the ladies dropped a deeply disappointing straight-sets decision to the Toronto Varsity Blues in Saturday’s OUA final (25-20, 25-23, 25-19).

The loss sees McMaster fall painfully short of their goal of reaching the CIS national championship tournament, and brings several Marauders’ varsity careers to a bitter end. For their part, the jubilant Blues will now travel to Edmonton as Ontario’s sole representative at the CIS festivities.

Saturday’s titular contest had all the makings of an epic, but proved to be nothing of the sort as the night wore on. Where the Blues brought their best form, and maintained it throughout, the Marauders began in nervous fashion and never truly recovered. In truth, it appeared that the occasion got the best of the McMaster ladies, who were under a considerable burden of expectation as the OUA’s pace-setters.

With Burridge packed and expectant, the match began tightly but would open up in Toronto’s favour after the first technical timeout. The teams were trading salvos in the opening rallies, with Larissa Puhach demonstrating her typical killer instinct with a cross court effort at 6-7. However, the Blues could only be held back for so long, and they would create what proved to be a fatal lead after a Heather Bansley smash proved too hot for Meagan Nederveen to handle.

As the set progressed, it became increasingly apparent that Toronto was on a separate level from the host team, who were struggling to compete in nearly every facet of the game. By the second technical timeout, the lead had increased to five, and the Blues gave no sign of slipping.

Despite a late comeback attempt, which saw Mac climb to within three after sophomore middle Shannon McRobert killed well down the center, there would be no stopping Toronto. After the Blues killed off of Marauder fingertips to bring the set to the brink, the Marauders gave it away when a miscommunication lead to a harmless Toronto lob landing inbounds.

The second stanza began in disaster for the hosts, who surrendered the first six points and looked completely out of sorts. However, aided by a combination of Toronto errors and brilliant shot-making, the Marauders managed to level the set at eight. After Jennifer Holt produced perhaps the play of the year, an astounding tip which landed just inside the back corner, the ever-present Puhach smashed off the block to complete the comeback.

After squandering this resurgence, McMaster would engineer another similar recovery in the late stages before being edged by the slightest of margins. Toronto had led ominously mid-set, but a net violation on the part of the visitors levelled things at 19, before Shannon McRobert actually managed to give the home side the lead with a signature put-back down the middle.

Unfortunately, in a virtually sudden-death scenario at the set’s conclusion, it was McMaster that would blink first and put themselves in a world of trouble. The Marauders appeared nervous, and after a shaky dig from Kailee Stock, Kaila Janssen would fire long to seal the set for the Blues.

Despite having a considerable mountain to climb, McMaster began the third set in their best form of the night, taking an encouraging early lead. After a stylish cross court swing from Sarah Kiernan, the Blues would dump an attack and call time, trailing by three.

Unfortunately, the Marauders once again proved unable to capitalize on their momentary gains. Soon enough, mistakes were taking over the hosts’ game, with Janssen and Lauren Skelly both misjudging digs. Mac would keep it close into mid-set, with Janssen producing consecutive kills to maintain hope among the Burridge faithful.

When Kiernan and Holt combined for an emphatic block to tie the set at 17, the hometown audience erupted, anticipating a long overdue momentum swing. But it was not to be, and Toronto would fatally pull away in the late stages. The Blues’ hitters had found their stride, and three consecutive kills saw them within two points of the championship.

Holt would produce one last bit of flair for the Marauders, with an impressive solo block which only delayed the inevitable. On the next point, Toronto found the far corner with a drilled effort and the match was theirs. The favoured hosts could only look on in disbelief as their opponents celebrated an OUA title, and the right to represent the division in the CIS championships.

For her valiant all-around effort, which included 25 assists and 12 digs, graduating all-star Jennifer Holt was named the Marauders’ player of the game in what was her last outing for the squad. The result will be a bitter pill to swallow for Holt and her fellow graduates, who had high hopes of leaving their varsity careers on a winning note.

However, the team should be very proud of their season, one which they utterly dominated for long periods. If nothing else, the campaign serves as a promising sign of things to come, and provides the Marauders’ returnees with invaluable playoff experience.

Tags: jenn holt, volleyball, women's volleyball