Marauders remain undefeated in preseason action

The McMaster Marauders men’s volleyball team is back for the 2012 season, with this past week seeing exhibition matches against Western University and the University of Waterloo. The team opened their pre-season with two impressive results, setting expectations very high for a volleyball squad with a mix of veteran leadership and young prospects.

On Thursday, the Marauders played their first game of the 2012-2013 season in Burridge Gym against the Western Mustangs, a team whose consistently among the OUA elite for men’s volleyball. The Marauders put forth a convincing effort against last year’s finalist, controlling nearly every aspect of the game over Western.

McMaster defeated their OUA rivals in convincing fashion with a 3-0 victory. Mac looked to be in mid-season form well before the tip-off of their 2012 OUA season, working well as unit in every set. Their opponents however, did not fare so well. The Mustangs especially struggled with the length of the Marauders front line. Mac continuously smothered any kill attempts from Western, sending numerous triple blocks at their opponents.

The triple blocks would pay off for the Marauders, especially in the second set, where McMaster would take the wind out of Western’s sail by putting up points through phenomenal defensive work.

One of the standout performances was from middle Dany Demyaneko, a first-year kinesiology student. Demyaneko produced both offensively and defensively throughout the entire match for McMaster and was often finishing off plays for the Maroon and Grey. Throughout the game, the standout rookie produced highlight kills while fitting in perfectly with Coach Dave Preston’s game plan.

On Friday, the men’s squad hosted the Waterloo Warriors, a team who reached the final four in the OUA playoffs last year. The preseason game would bring another victory for the Marauders, again with a dominating performance. Mac would beat the Warriors 3-0, taking the sets 25-20, 25-19 and 25-13.

The Marauders have yet to lose a set through four matches of their pre-season, a great sign for a team with OUA Championship dreams. The men’s squad will have another exhibition game against the Brandon University Bobcats, a strong team hailing from the Canada West athletic conference. The teams face off on Thursday at Burridge Gym, with tip-off set at 8 p.m.