It was a nail biter for the women’s volleyball team on Oct. 26 as their match against the Western Mustangs proved to be a back-and-forth battle.
McMaster would fight to the finish and come out with a narrow 16-14 win in a nerve-wracking fifth set giving them their first win of the season on the road.
Melanie Walsh says a steady energy level is what played a large factor in the team’s win over the Mustangs on Saturday night.
“We kept a very steady energy level throughout the whole Western game and that was a large part of our win,” said first year Walsh.
The Marauders came out in full force to start the match winning seven of their first eight points in the opening set which would establish them as the leaders early on in the game. The Mustangs would fail to answer to the Marauders efforts and continued to make mistakes, which the confident Mac squad was able to dominate on. McMaster notched a commanding 16-10 lead after consecutive combo blocks from Maicee Sorenson.
The Marauders continued to triumph and would increase their lead to 23-10 over the Western Mustangs. Western would gain some life and reel off a six-point run to bring them within four points of the Marauder squad. McMaster would re-organize my canadian pharmacy online and come out on top taking the first set of the game, leading the Stangs 1-0.
Western would strike back against McMaster and continue on a run to kick off the second set. Western would notch three aces over the course of a six-point streak against Mac to give them an 11-3 lead. The good fortune would continue for the Mustangs and their lead would increase by another nine points. Despite a comeback effort from the Maroon and Grey contingent, Western’s lead would only grow and they would eventually win the set 25-12 tying the game at 1-1.
The hosting Western Mustangs would then win four out of the first five points at the start of the third set and would hold an early lead. McMaster would soon switch gears and begin to claw their way back into the top spot. The lead was cut to just two points with Western clinging to a 16-14 lead over the Marauders.
McMaster’s momentum would pay off with two kills from Mastroluisi and Bukovec to bring the Marauders to a 20-18 lead. The gears would switch once again and Western would find their second wind to win the third set 25-22. Western now led the game 2-1.
The visiting Marauders did not start the fourth set well, and it appeared as if the Mustangs had finally gotten under their skin. Bukovec would soon revive the tired Marauders with two straight aces to help McMaster creep up on the scoreboard. The teams went back and forth until Bukovec once again hit some rockets towards the Mustangs to help the Marauders to win four straight points to bring them to a 17-15 advantage. McMaster would continue to soar, not falling behind at any point in the fourth set. They would go on to win their next eight points, building a large advantage for themselves. Mac would eventually lock down the win tying the game at 2-2.
Both teams had steady runs all attempting to stay within reach of one another and would eventually show both team’s tied at 14 a piece. Caitlin Genovey’s serve would find the floor and would be the game-winning point for the Maroon and Grey, as they would take the fifth and final set at a close 16-14.
With some newfound confidence and a better understanding of what lies ahead, the Marauders can now come away with a focus and a new outlook for their season. The team will now prepare to face the Toronto Varsity Blues on Nov. 2 on their home court in Burridge Gym.
After coming off an encouraging pre-season run, one that the team had not been used to seeing, the Marauders were faced a familiar opponent in the OUA season opener.
Looking to administer some pay back against the Ryerson Rams was the main goal for the Marauders on the Oct. 19 match, which took place in Burridge Gym.
The start of the match was not exactly how the team planned to begin their journey to a win. The team fell viagra jelly for women behind early on with Ryerson taking a commanding 9-4 lead. At the technical timeout, the Rams continued to increase momentum as they crept up even further to a 16-5 lead over the Maroon and Grey. Ryerson would eventually close out the first set with a score of 25-13.
It was a different Marauder team seen to begin the second set as they took the lead this time with a score of 6-1. Their momentum would continue long into the final minutes of the second set as their marginal lead widened with the score sitting at 16-5 for McMaster.
McMaster would eventually get a bit of the payback they yearned for taking the second set 25-16 and tying the match at one a piece.
The third set would be the difference maker for either team, as it would put one of them ahead by one. The Marauders held on to an early 16-12 lead. After the technical timeout the Maroon momentum continued as they lead 19-17.
Ryerson started their comeback, pouncing on some passing errors from the Maroon contingent. The Rams would soon capitalize and take a short 21-20 lead. Ryerson would eventually regain their momentum and finish the set with a 25-23 win. Match now sat at 2-1 for Ryerson with the next set either giving a win for the Rams or the comeback for the Marauders.
With McMaster now trailing by one, this set would prove to be a crucial one for either team. The Marauders got in close, by a single point with the score sitting at 10-9. Ryerson would rev up their engines bringing the score in their favor with a 16-10 lead. Unfortunately, McMaster failed to make a comeback and fell to the Rams 25-16 in the fourth set, and lost the match 3-1.
Looking to the future of their season, it will be communication between players that will be a key component in helping the team to make and complete game winning plays.
“We are working on having constant communication from everyone on the team on and off the court,” said first-year player Melanie Walsh.
“Going into the season if we can have constant communication we all know we have the talent to compete for the OUA and CIS titles.”
A key player from the roster was missing against Ryerson, which could have proved to be a difference maker for the Marauder squad. Taylor Brisebois, a third-year middle blocker suffered an injury in the semifinal matchup against Waterloo is anxious to make a return to help out her Marauder hopefuls this season.
“I should be making a full recovery hopefully next week and then competing in the Toronto match here at McMaster,” said Brisebois.
With the hopes of key blocker Brisebois making a triumphant return to the squad the Marauders have their upcoming matches against Windsor and Western to use as the redemption they need to turn their season around.
The matches are set for this weekend, with games taking place on Oct. 25 and Oct. 26 before the team will make a return home to Burridge Gym to face the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Nov. 2.
Despite their loss against the talented Ryerson Rams on Friday, the women’s volleyball team is in the midst of experiencing one of the greatest preseason runs for the Marauders in the past five years.
This is something that is very encouraging for McMaster, a team that is not used to this kind of success this early on in the season.
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“As a team we have never done very well in pre-season. It usually takes us into the regular season to become very cohesive on the court,” said veteran libero, Melanie Walsh.
The team showed just how cohesive they can be however, bringing home the bronze medal at the tournament in Winnipeg, Man., and the gold medal at the Gee-Gee tournament in Ottawa.
“The team battled it out hard in Ottawa to bring home the gold and I think it really opened our eyes to our potential for the season,” said middle blocker, Taylor Brisebois.
The team carried this momentum to their games against the RMC Paladins, and the Waterloo Warriors at the McMaster Thanksgiving Classic on Oct. 10, which resulted in two solid wins for the Maroon and Grey.
These were just other confidence-boosting performances that sealed the deal for the Marauders pre-season and solidified them as a dangerous team heading into the regular season, which kicks off Oct. 19, in the Burridge Gymnasium.
“This year, the on-court chemistry happened so quickly” said Walsh on the recent win.
“It definitely builds confidence for us going into regular season knowing that we have already had success together”
The Marauders fell just short of the gold on Oct. 12, against the Ryerson Rams, who won the Thanksgiving Classic final in a 3-2 decision (28-30, 25-18, 18-25, 25-10, 11-15).
The match serves as a learning curve for the Marauders, as they will prepare themselves to face the Ryerson team again on Oct. 19, and this time, the goal is to pull out a win
“We are aware of what they bring to the table and are going to prepare the best we can in order to defeat them,” said Brisebois.
Brisebois, a third-year middle blocker, was injured in the tournament during the Waterloo semi-final match-up, and setter Kayla Ng was injured in the match against the Rams, which was a setback for the Marauders in the final game.
“While coming down from a block I was landed on by one of the opponents. After seeing a doctor it appears to be nothing too serious so hopefully I am fully recovered in about a week” said Brisebois on the injury.
“Kayla was also injured in the gold medal game with her first sprained ankle so hopefully in a few weeks she is fully recovered as well,” added Brisebois.
The Marauders will have to work through the injuries this Saturday afternoon when they will take on the Rams once again – a team that brings back memories of being knocked out of the OUA quarter-finals in February.
For Brisebois, there is a lot of tension in the match-up.
“There is definitely some tension for myself facing Ryerson because of last year’s quarterfinals, and with having friends on the team, and also being coached by Dustin Reid before, but it's all in the spirit of the game and makes me even more excited to face them in season”
For Walsh, the match up will be one of recovery.
“There does not seem to be tension regarding the upcoming Ryerson match, just more of the want for redemption.”
The aforementioned match against Ryerson will take place, Oct. 19 in the Burridge Gym
As for the Ryerson Rams, Brisebois believes that they will be faced with some fierce competition against the Marauders squad.
“We are passionate about working hard and we don't take losing lightly.”
When asked about the ability of his team this season, Head Coach Tim Louks does not just give the typical cliché responses. Rather, he gives a run-through of what they were like last season, and what improvements have been made that have gotten them to where they are, and what they are now - a CIS medal contending team.
The Marauders swept the competition in a field of highly competitive teams at the Preseason Gee-Gees Classic in Ottawa this past weekend- which is a tournament that hosts some of the most dominant teams in the OUA and AUS, but these powerhouse teams were no match for the Maroon and Grey, who won all of their matches in the tournament.
“It’s just a building block, for sure it’s a building block, it’s part of a larger plan” said Louks.
“We had a vision of what we wanted to try and accomplish through the course of the tournament, and, as I say, the girls all the time would play to win, all the time.”
And this was no overstatement. The Marauders made it to the semi-final by toppling over the Brock Badgers, the Sherbrooke Vert-et Or, and the St. Mary’s Huskies - a powerful team that was runner-up last year in the AUS finals.
Louks was proud of the team’s win, and thinks they will only get better and more skilled, as the members prioritize to improve in their game.
“I believe the players have lots of opportunity to address some of their, sort of, individual agendas, which is sort of going to keep making us deeper in terms of skill and stuff like that, so, it was a great win.”
The team made the trek to Winnipeg two weeks before, where they managed to come home with a bronze medal while up against some fierce Canada West competition. In the eyes of coach Louks, they have already made some big steps in improving from the tournament, just one week later.
One of these big steps has included the team-building that has taken place from spending time with one another, both on and off of the court
“As a group, as a team…they’re still looking, still building an identity for this year what the team is kind of going to anchor itself on; they’re getting to appreciate each other a little bit, and those are the things… just bumping shoulders, and connecting, and going on bus trips, and plane rides… It’s a necessary thing to occur,” said Louks.
In terms of supporting one another, and creating positive energy for the team, Louks thinks that he is working alongside some great personas and student athletes that all seem to be getting along well as a team unit
“It’s probably the most collected group I’ve seen in a long, long time,” added Louks.
Other than the bonding of the team, the biggest difference of this year’s team for Coach Loukts are the players that have graduated, and the players that have come in, that have made the team younger, and deeper overall.
Out of these young players, Louks has named five to the roster that have all contributed on the court in the preseason tournaments
“Carly Heath was on the floor as a libero - first year out of Calgary in the fifth set against St.Mary’s…Sophie Bukovec played, Maciee Sorrensen played, Joanna Jedrzejewska played, the only player that didn’t get minutes but played in the semi-final was Caitlin Genovy, and that’s predominantly because we have three setters, and two of them are fifth years so she’s going to have to be patient in that,” said Louks on the depth of the rookies.
Although Coach Louks is the head coach of a dominant team, he understands the stresses and challenges that they will face down the road that may interfere with the season - but he does not want these challenges to get in the way of the primary goal: which is and always has been, to win a provincial and national championship.
“Few, if any will be pro, few if any will go national level, but all will compete at the university level if they choose to and graduate out of here and life will trump the game, and we get it, that’s the priority” said Louks.
The team will prepare to do well, and win key matches with the help of some standout performers that were recognized in the Gee-Gee tournament as MVP’s
“Certainly the recognition needs to go to all of them because they all had played. If you look match to match situations, everybody got opportunities,” said the former Canadian men’s national volleyball player.
The team will now look forward to an exhibition game on Thursday at the Thanksgiving Classic at the Burridge Gym, before they tackle the rest of their season that kicks off Oct, against the familiar Ryerson Rams - the same team that knocked the Marauders out of the quarterfinals last season.
But this season will be different from last. Coach Louks knows that there will be no disappointment, as there may have been in previous seasons. He is confident in the abilities and progress of his team, and believes that the idea of an OUA and CIS medal is not far out of reach.
The Marauders exciting season gets underway on Oct. 19. in the Burridge Gym.
The McMaster Women’s Volleyball team travelled to York University this past Sunday to face the fifth ranked Lions in what almost turned out to be a considerable upset of epic proportions.
Coming off a frustrating loss against the Golden Gaels McMaster knew that a win against York would be crucial in order to place at least top five in their division.
The Marauders got off to a powerful start on Sunday as they took a quick 10-7 lead over the Lions. As the teams entered the midway point McMaster held a consistent lead and only gained more momentum as the set continued. McMaster continued their lead, executing one perfect play after another spreading the lead to 14-9. York remained behind and McMaster racked up the score even higher. York caught up and remained within the striking distance as the set now set at 16-13. After the technical timeout a continuous pattern of errors gave the Marauders the advantage as the set drew to a close.
The score continued to favor the Marauders as the set now sat at 22-17. The set remained close and continued on with the score sitting at 24-20 for the Marauders. With a team effort from Shannon McRobert and Amanda Weldon a crucial three points for the Marauders would be the determining factor, as the set would end with a win for the visiting McMaster squad.
McMaster continued to power on in the second taking an early 5-2 lead. York soon staged an immediate comeback as they took over and lead 7-6 over the Marauders. Neither team managed to string together a consistent run from the service line, but York found their rhythm and took over with a 16-14 lead heading into the technical timeout. York would find more consistency as the set continued and would take a commanding lead as the set came to a close. The set now sat in favor of the Lions with a score of 24-19 with York eventually clenching a win with the final score sitting at 25-21.
With new found momentum for the York Lions it was expected for the third set to be within their control but it ended up being quite the opposite. The errors, which plagued them early on during the first, set slowly made their return. The Marauders were able to jump on York’s slow start taking an early 11-4 lead. McMaster continued their triumphant run bringing the score to a seven-point lead going into the technical timeout. McMaster kept up their momentum leading the set 21-13. York had one last run left before the set was out of their reach. McMaster would eventually seal the deal and take the third set 25-20 over the home team.
McMaster would head into the fourth set anything but confident, as some shaky serves would open the start of the set. The Lions built momentum off of McMaster’s shaky start and won 11 of this first 13 points before the Marauders would call a time out. Mac made some changes to the line-up with Camilla Thorne-Tjomsland entering the set and proving to be a force at the service line.
Slowly, McMaster regained their confidence and worked their way back into the fourth set bringing the score within five of the Lions. Ultimately the set would end badly for the Marauders after some service errors plagued their hopes for a comeback. York would step up and make a kill from the right inevitably ending the set with a score of 25-15.
The hope of a win for the visiting Marauders would all lie in their actions in the fifth and final deciding set.
The Lions would speed ahead of the Marauders winning four out of the first five points. The home team soon gained more ground bringing the set to 12-6. McMaster would prove to make the set a definite battle as Kailee Stock made some important kills to bring the Marauders within three. Unfortunately Stock’s tip fell just wide on the next point and sadly it was all over the Maroon contingent as York took the final set and the game.
The loss now drops the Marauders to 9-9 on the season allowing them to clinch the sixth spot in the OUA. The team will travel to Ryerson University on Saturday, Feb. 16 for the OUA Quarterfinal match against the hosting Rams.
By: Alexandra Reilly
It was a fight to finish this past Saturday afternoon in Burridge gym as the McMaster Women’s Volleyball team pulled out a huge win in five sets against the Brock Badgers.
Going into the match, Head Coach Tim Louks was quite confident after the team’s double-header win the previous weekend.
“Brock is a team that we only get to play once,” Louks said. “There is no ‘get another shot at it’. Brock is tough and we are all right around the same record. We know as a team what we have to do.”
The set got off to a bit of a disastrous start for the Maroon contingent as their two first sets were both driven right into the net. Brock took advantage of McMaster’s early slump and pounced, taking an early 16-12 lead.
After the technical timeout the Badgers dominated once again expanding their lead to 23-18 over the Marauders.
The Marauders errors and Brock’s dominance were too much for the ladies in Maroon as they dropped the first set of the game 25-23. The Marauders regained focus to start off the second set with a 6-1 lead.
Unfortunately the Badgers maintained their focus and power throughout the set in order to catch up and take a 16-15 lead halfway through.
After the second technical timeout of the game the teams were tied at 19 a piece. Thanks to McMaster’s Amanda Weldon and Lauren Mastroluisi performing some key serves in the set, the Marauders were able to even out the score of the game 1-1 taking the second set 25-20.
The third set proved to be another key difference maker in the game for the Marauders as they amped up their game right from the start.
The Marauders were able to snatch a 16-10 lead and although Brock put up a fight coming within 2 points of the Marauders, the ladies maintained their composure to close out the third set 25-20 making it now a 2-1 game.
The fourth set saw the Brock Badgers step up their game as they took an early lead over the Marauders.
The Badgers snagged a 16-9 lead over the Marauders at the technical timeout. The set was a slow one for the Marauder squad seeing them trailing 20-14.
McMaster attempted to make a run getting within two of the Badgers but Brock held strong taking the fourth set 25-20. With the game now tied 2-2 it would come down to a fifth and final determining set.
The Marauders brought it to start off the fifth set with an early 8-2 lead over Brock.
The ladies in Maroon kept it going to further extend their lead to 14-10 before Brock scored three in a row to bring the game to a whole new level. It was a nerve-wracking final set if you were a Marauder fan as the Badgers kept the score of the set very close.
Kierstyn Bakker proved to be a difference maker scoring the final winning point for the Marauders to win the set 15-13 and take the game 3-2 over Brock.
McMaster’s Shannon McRoberts had another break out game with 13 kills and 6 solo blocks in the match. This win extends McMaster’s winning streak to 3 in a row also evens out the team’s total stats to 5 wins and 5 losses.
The Marauders now break for the Christmas holiday returning in the New Year to face the Toronto Varsity Blue’s at home on January 11th.
By: Alexandra Reilly
It was a very busy weekend for the McMaster Women’s Volleyball as they saw some double-header game action both at home and on the road in Toronto.
The Marauders whirlwind weekend began with a visit to Toronto to face the Ryerson Rams at their brand new Mattamy Athletic Centre. The start of the first set was slow for both teams and very out of the ordinary for the Rams, as they are known for their powerful starts to take control of the game early. The Rams held on and remained in the set as the Marauders made many attack errors and handed Ryerson 15 extra points during the set.
Despite many mistakes during the first step, McMaster picked up the pace thanks to some key blocks from Shannon McRobert, which allowed the Marauders to take the first set with a close score of 25-23.
The second set proved dramatically different for both teams as they closely matched each other throughout the majority of play. The Rams soon took control, turning their 10-8 deficit into a 14-10 lead over the Marauders. The lead continued to increase for the Rams as they took a 9-point lead over the Marauder contingent.
McMaster showed true determination as they worked to decrease their opponents lead, soon bringing the score to just 24-21. Despite Mac’s best efforts, Chelsea Briscoe of the Ryerson Rams finished things off in a big way with her third block of the game to allow the Rams to take the second set 25-21, bringing the game to a 1-1 tie.
The third set proved to be one of the best for the Rams as they racked up a total of 16 kills throughout. The Rams took the third set 25-20, changing the pace of the game for the Marauders.
The fourth set started off rough for the Marauders, as the Rams were able to take advantage early on and hold a 12-7 lead. McMaster railed back, overtaking the Rams to put themselves in the lead with a 13-12 comeback. Lauren Skelly proved to be the driving force behind the comeback as she had back-to-back kills in the set, forcing Ryerson to go to a timeout.
After the time out, the Rams returned with full force to take an impactful 19-14 lead over the Marauders with a powerful six-point run. After some major serving power for the Rams, they were able to overtake the ladies in Maroon with a 25-17 victory to end the fourth and final set, and to take the game 3-1 over the Marauders.
Despite the loss, the Marauders own Shannon McRobert had an amazing game with a team-high ten total kills and four blocks during the game.
After the loss to the Rams it was on to the next one for the Marauders as they headed back home to Hamilton to face the Varsity Blues on Sunday afternoon.
The Marauders would struggle early on, taking a 25-20 loss in the first set to the Blues, but would get their revenge dominating Toronto in the second set 25-18. It would take the Blues extra points in the third set to regain their lead over the Marauders, but those points would prove deadly, helping them to take the third set 27-25 despite lots of hard work from McMaster.
The game would continue to a fourth set, in which McMaster would put up another great fight but fall short as the Varsity Blues closed out the game 3-1 with their 25-23 win in the final set.
Toronto’s Charlotte Sider was the difference maker in the game with 20 kills and 24 digs. Jennifer Neilson also played a large role in the Blues’ win with 13 kills and an additional two aces for 15 points.
McMaster’s Kailee Stock racked up 13 kills in the game and added 3 aces.
The Marauders must now look forward to their next game, which was rescheduled to Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. in Burridge Gym. McMaster will take on the Guelph Gryphons and look for a crucial win on home turf.
McMaster is back in the victory column after a sweep of the Lakehead Thunderwolves. The ladies took a trip to Thunder Bay, Ont. to take on the winless Wolves hoping to turn around a disappointing 0-3 start to their season.
The first set saw improvement in all areas of the Maroon and Grey’s play, with noticeably better service and passing to give McMaster an early lead. Lakehead would rebound to lead 16-12 at the technical in the first set, but the break would allow Mac to refocus. In a crucial rally, the Marauders dug up a ball off a double block and were able to tie the game at 18. Errors in both receiving and serving the ball from the Wolves handed McMaster the first set victory.
The second set would be another tight match to begin. Both sides would flex their muscles, most notably with Mac’s Kailee Stock unleashing on a ball to freeze the Thunderwolf defense. Stock’s kill tied the game at 9, but Lakehead would regroup and gain a 16-12 advantage at the technical. Mac would be forced to take another timeout shortly after when the second set seemed to be getting away after Lakehead took a 20-16 lead. But the decision from Coach Tim Louks failed to help the situation and McMaster dropped the second set 25-20.
In the important tiebreaking set, the Marauders seemed to have a fire lit underneath them and forced the Thunderwolves into an early 6-4 deficit. With Lakehead continuing their struggle to find a rhythm in third, and Maroon and Grey took a 9-5 lead. Blocking would be the story of the third, with McMaster putting together a strong effort at the net to give the team some quick and easy points. This time, McMaster would lead 16-12 at the technical and would maintain the lead until the end of the set. Staring at a five-point deficit, the Lakehead coaching staff called a timeout in an effort to rally the troops. Louks was able to keep his team on track and they polished off the third with a 25-20 victory and all the momentum heading into a fourth set.
Lakehead found themselves on the ropes, down 2-1 and staring into the face of another loss to start their season. This reality was evident in their play, starting the fourth with intensity to cause a back-and-forth opening to the set. After an early 5-3, the Thunderwolves could no longer fend off the Marauders, who began to distance themselves through defense at the net. With another lead at the technical, McMaster took their foot off the gas pedal and allowed the Wolves to narrow the margin, 18-17.
A timeout from Louks would be enough to revitalize the squad and closeout the Thunderwolves. The victory was the first of the year for the Marauders and the team would follow up the win with another the night after.
The following night, McMaster would have a rematch against Lakehead. This game would see a much more Mac-friendly result, with a Maroon victory in a 3-0 set sweep. The Thunderwolves came out flat in their defense of homecourt, giving up their fifth loss of the season.
Shannon McRobert was a major cog in the victory for McMaster. Her defense at the net gave the Lakehead offense fits throughout the night, as they were unable to beat her length. She finished the game with four solo blocks and three block assists to lead Mac to victory.
The women’s volleyball team will try to extend their two game winning streak this weekend. They’ll hit the road on Saturday to take on the 4-0 Ryerson Rams. The Rams have put together a strong 2012 debut, losing only one set in their four matches. On Sunday, McMaster will again head into Ontario’s capital city to face the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. The Varsity Blues sit at 2-2 on the season. The team should get through the weekend with one win, but two wins is something the team is entirely of accomplishing. Both matches will be streamed on SSN Canada.
By: Scott Hastie & Alexandra Reilly
Over the weekend, the McMaster Marauders women’s volleyball team played their second and third games of the 2012 OUA regular season. The first match was a road trip to the University of Guelph to take on a young Gryphons team, followed by a home game hosting the University of Ottawa Gee-Gee’s.
The first victory of the campaign was within reach on Friday, when the Marauders hit the road to face the Guelph Gryphons. But Mac couldn’t secure the victory and let a 2-0 set lead slip to suffer their second defeat in a row.
In the first set, McMaster looked to be in the driver’s seat. The Gryphon squad, whose most experienced players are two fourth-year players, were showing their youth. With poor serving, lack of blocking at the net, and a hole in the backcourt defensively, Mac was able to end rallies quickly to earn early points. Taylor Brisebois was a menace for the Marauders on defense, easily sending back weak balls from the Gryphons. But the set would not be as easy as it seemed, as the Guelph squad was able to wake up from their struggles to lead 16-14 at the technical timeout.
The first set out of the timeout was a thrilling rally between the sides but the home team would win the point. Losing the minutes-long rally could have been deflating for Mac, but they persevered. Shannon McRoberts would lead McMaster to a 1-0 lead over Guelph, stringing together a quick kill followed by a roof block for two quick points to aid the first set effort.
But the Gryphons would not lay down in front of a full crowd, starting the second set with a 4-0 lead. With Mac wavering, fifth-year McRoberts would again be a rock for the team and energize her team to comeback. Amanda Weldon adding her own offense from the setter position, catching the Guelph defense sleeping on multiple occasions. At the technical timeout, McMaster led 16-14. The Marauders cruised through the second half of the set until late, when the Gryphons would again make a comeback effort and not give up the set easily. The second would need extra points and Mac was up to the challenge. They responded by winning 28-26, giving them a daunting 2-0 lead.
With their first victory of the season in view, Mac came out looking to win as quickly as possible. The Maroon and Grey would be met by an equally inspired Guelph effort with the first ten points of the game going back and forth, point for point. Rallies did not last long as both teams were able to score quickly in the possessions and there was no clear momentum for either side.
The match went take a dark turn for the Marauders as the Guelph team dominated in both aspects of the game. Mac looked like a different team, failing to put up any presence at the net. The Gryphons were strong on the defensive side of the ball and mixed in attacks from both centre court and the outsides to earn kills throughout the game changing third set. With a 25-14 third set score in favour of Guelph, a sure fire victory was highly questionable for Mac.
In the forced fourth set, the story remained the same. McMaster was not as strong as they were in the beginning and Guelph had found a groove. With confidence growing with each score, Coach Tim Louks called timeout and woke his team up. Kailee Stock would put forth a strong effort offensively in the fourth but it would not be enough with McMaster falling 25-21.
The fifth and decisive set was tough with the Maroon and Grey unable to string together successive offensive plays against a stingy Gryphon defense. Watching the fifth and final set of an unsuspected comeback got the home crowd cheering for their squad and inspired the Guelph team. Their confidence was tangible and their efforts would be vindicated as they took the victory 15-9 to win overall 3-2.
On Sunday afternoon, the women’s volleyball team hosted the Ottawa Gee-Gee’s in Burridge Gym. The game proved to be another heartbreaking defeat for the Marauders after three close sets of volleyball.
In the first set, McMaster found themselves down early. But with a few lapses from Ottawa and great serves from the Marauder contingency, the score was brought closer. With a kill from McRoberts and a dump over pass to follow, the Marauders would come within two of the Gee-Gee’s.
Ottawa put forth a consistent effort throughout the set as they continued a steady streak keeping the Marauders five points behind. After a Marauder time out and some great defensive play the girls in maroon would come within one point of the Gee-Gee’s as the set continued. Unfortunately the Gee-Gee’s killer back row would end the set in Ottawa’s favor, 25-19. The Gee-Gee’s tallied 11 kills to McMaster’s eight in the first set.
The Gee-Gee’s came out in full force to start the second set. Expert sets would force McMaster to fall behind early on and call a timeout to refocus. Despite the timeout, the Mac could stop the bleeding and the Ottawa lead grew to six. Ottawa was quick to pounce on any Marauders comeback attempt and quickly gained an additional four points. Ottawa’s strong offense proved to be the main component of the second set win for the Gee-Gee’s as they took it 25-13.
Weldon proved to be a key contributor in the third and final set, as two crucial aces from her would get the Marauders started. McMaster found themselves down once again early on in the set, but Mac gained their first lead over the Gee-Gee’s, 7-5. Camilla Thorne-Tjomsland would be a key piece in the fight to win the set, as her presence at the net was a force to be reckoned with. Her outstanding efforts allowed the Marauders to gain a four-point lead over the Gee-Gee’s.
A technical foul against the Gee-Gee’s help give Mac further momentum to help propel them further into the lead with two more points. Ottawa slowly began to creep back up again bringing themselves within just two points of the Marauders, forcing McMaster to call a much-needed time out.
Ottawa would then tie the game up once again at 18 and a miscommunication by the Marauders would then put the Gee-Gee’s back in the lead. Despite the close score all set, the Gee-Gee’s would put up some more aces and with a killer defensive effort handed the Marauders a close 25-23 defeat for the third and final set.
At times, the Marauders looked like a confident team able to prey upon their opponent’s weaknesses. The beginning of their season is eerily similar to that of 2011. The team will look to turn things around when they travel to Thunder Bay, Ont. to take on the Lakehead Thunderwolves in two games this weekend.
The Mizuno Classic is the first home action the Marauders have seen this year after opening their 2012-13 season with tournaments in Ottawa and Montreal. Some of the teams who made their way to McMaster this past weekend for the tournament included: Brock, Guelph, Lakehead, Royal Military College, Ryerson, Western and York. Marauder fans definitely had a lot to be excited about following the women’s performance this weekend.
The McMaster Women’s Volleyball team began the 2012 Mizuno Classic with a hard-fought battle against Royal Military College’s Volleyball squad. The Marauders looked as though they were off to a great start coming off of their silver medal victory in Ottawa to start the new season.
The Marauders played an amazing 5-set game in front of an eager home crowd last Thursday night in Burridge Gym. The game started out slow as the Marauders lost 2 sets in a row before powering back to win the crucial third set 25-21. The game continued in McMaster’s favor as the team won their second set in a row 25-19 forcing a fifth set to be the deciding factor of the game.
The Marauder contingent put forth an amazing effort in hopes of warding off a victory in favor of Royal Military College but unfortunately fell just short in the fifth and final set, losing 15-11, which would cost them their first tournament victory.
The game proved to be an amazing opener for the Mizuno Tournament this year, showcasing the outstanding talents of the Marauder players.
The women would bounce back against the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Saturday. Mac won the match against the team hailing from Thunder Bay, Ont. with a 3-0 decision but each set was highly contested. The defeat of Lakehead would give the Marauders a spot in the fifth-place match against the Western Mustangs.
The Mustangs were a banged-up squad, dealing with multiple injuries to their line-up early in their 2012 season. Despite being hit by the injury bug, Western put up an incredible fight for fifth with McMaster but ultimately Mac would walk out of Burridge Gym with the victory.
The fifth place match went to a fifth set, with McMaster narrowly edging out their opponents 15-13 in the decisive set.
On Saturday, the Marauders will head to Toronto to face-off against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues for their final game of pre-season action. Look for the Marauders to continue to build off of early success in the 2012 season in their attempt to capture the OUA Championship.
