Doing it for the thrill

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Ask anyone who was in Burridge last Friday night and they will tell you that the gym was shaking with energy. The enthusiasm of the large audience of maroon-clad fans provided the Marauders with that “seventh man” that they’ve yearned for the home crowd to be all year. The intensity and noise were consistent throughout the match, but peaked in what was arguably the best set I have ever witnessed in my three years here at McMaster.

Fourth-year outside hitter Rebecca Steckle recounts the big playoff win, but insists Mac’s impressive showing was no accident.

“I think thrilling is a perfect description. We were prepared and had a great week of practice. We were on another level and just ready to win,” said Steckle. “I think that we went out and controlled the game from start to finish. There was never a moment where I felt as though Windsor was controlling the momentum.”

McMaster sent Windsor packing all three sets, but the most memorable was their 36-34 score in the second set that the relentless Marauders wrestled away from the grips of the persistent Lancers.

The latter part of the second set was like a heated fight between two prizefighters throwing their best haymakers at each other. Windsor set Melissa Smyth several times and Mac relied on the powerful and steady hands of Maicee Sorensen and Steckle.

Steckle finished with 18.5 points and Sorensen landed 14.5 of her own. The two front court players were disruptive and authoritative at the net all night long.

The Mac fans in Burridge were taken on an emotional roller coaster; each Lancer point elicited stressful gasps and each Marauder score incited faithful Marauders to their feet.

“The rowdy crowd made it that much more fun and we wanted to entertain them,” said Sorensen.

Windsor had Mac backed up against the wall many times in that second set as they wanted to take a match point, but the Marauders kept swinging back and hitting floor.

Eventually they broke through and that was the turning point of the match.

“That second set was absolutely absurd,” said Steckle.

Even though it was incredibly stressful and the stakes were high, Steckle had no doubt in her team’s ability to come through.

“When I think back, the part I am actually astounded by is that there was never a moment where I stepped into our huddle after a point and wondered if we would lose,” Steckle said.

“Every time I looked into the eyes of my teammates, I honestly believed we would win. Windsor had several set points in the second, but it didn’t matter to us. We believed and we chose not to stop fighting.”

Sorensen provides insight into the depth of that fight.

“We fought off 10 set points to win the second,” said Sorensen.

After winning the toughest part of the match, McMaster won the third set and punched their ticket to the OUA Final Four — which they failed to do last season.

The Marauders will travel to Toronto this weekend along with Ryerson and Western. McMaster enters with a 17-3 record and a 7-2 road record.

McMaster plays Toronto in an OUA semifinal at 6 p.m. this Friday at the Goldring Centre on the campus of U of T. The team played Toronto twice this season and lost both matches.

The Friday night match promises to be a tense one, as McMaster and Toronto are the only OUA teams in the CIS Top 10. The winner will play Ryerson or Western in the OUA title game.

Head Coach Tim Louks was blunt about the reality of the weekend.

“I told the girls that there are going to be tears either way,” said Louks. “The question is, ‘What kind of tears are they going to be?’ ”

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