Marauders atop the standings

By: Laura Sinclair

The Marauders men’s volleyball team remains the number-one team in the OUA and the second-ranked team in the CIS after a successful road trip to Windsor and London to take on some fierce OUA competition.

The Marauders team has proven to be unstoppable, remaining the only undefeated team left in the OUA.

After spending their Friday night in Toronto to watch the Vanier Cup, the Marauders had to hop on a bus and hit the road early on Saturday to Windsor to take on the Lancers.

Despite the long bus ride, the team still managed to bring their A game, winning the match 3-1.

The Lancers surprised the powerhouse Marauders team in the first set, winning it 25-19.

The momentum from the Lancers would not last long, as the Marauders got a hold of it in the second set and dominated the Lancers, winning it quite easily 25-9, proving that the first set was just a fluke.

The third and fourth sets were also won quite handily by the Marauders with scores of 25-20 and 25-21, respectively.

The leading scorer for the Marauders was Stephen Maar, who led the team with 19 points and 15 kills, followed by Jayson McCarthy with ten kills and three blocks, Kevin Stevens with 11 kills and one block, and Dany Demyanenko with six kills, four blocks and one ace.

The Marauders’ winning streak was not done yet, as they traveled to London on Sunday to take on their rivals, the Western Mustangs.

The Marauders were off to a slow start in the first set, trailing the Mustangs on the score board. Once the team got their act together, they ended up dominating the remainder of the set, and winning it in a close score of 25-23.

The Marauders kept the momentum going in the early part of the second set, getting up to a six-point lead, but Western’s Phil James scored continuous points on his serve, giving Western the lead and, ultimately, the win.

Western won the set 26-24.

The Mustangs was on a roll in the third set, leading 8-4 early on, until Marauder Alex Elliot took to the court.

Elliot brought a series of blocks, helping the Marauders to get the lead and the win, 25-20.

The fourth set saw Marauder dominance once again, as the men in maroon ran away with it, winning the set 25-19.

Dany Demyanenko was the leading scorer for the Marauders, dominating with 20 points, 17 kills, two blocks and one ace; a performance that contributed to his well-deserved title of “Athlete of the Week.”

Right behind Demyanenko in points was Jayson McCarthy with 14.5, 10 kills, 2.5 blocks and two aces, Kevin Stevens with 14 points, Stephen Maar with 12 points and Austin Campion-Smith with 43 assists in the match.

Next up for the Marauders men’s volleyball team is a break for exams.

OUA regular season action gets started again in the Burridge Gym on Jan. 11, when the Marauders will take on the University of Toronto Varsity Blues.