Windsor in the way

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A year removed from their home quarterfinal loss at the hands of the Western Mustangs, the McMaster Marauders find themselves in a similar position. The Marauders have a homecourt date with the Windsor Lancers to start their 2016 playoff run.

While most of the campus was away for reading week, McMaster Women’s Volleyball played their last three regular season matches of the year. The Marauders lost to Toronto at home and cemented their season with victories over York and Nipissing on the road.

In spite of a straight-set loss to a strong No. 2 Toronto team on Feb. 13, Head Coach Tim Louks was happy with his team’s fight.

“I was pleased with two of the three sets, although we didn’t win. We played them close,” said Louks. “We have a lot to learn because we’re not ready to beat that team, but I don’t know who is.”

Toronto has only lost a staggering three sets all season.

Louks let his team celebrate a bit after capping off their season in strong fashion, but he knows their job is far from over.

“I spent about five minutes congratulating the girls on the ability to put ourselves in a position to host a quarterfinal at home and compete from there,” said Louks.

“To host and dictate a little bit where we’re going to play and what time is nice. I love the Friday night slot. Hopefully we get a crowd. We might get some pull from that. We might be the only show in town so let’s bring noise and excitement.”

Last time McMaster faced Windsor, the Marauders mustered a gritty five-set comeback victory after dropping the first two sets. It was one of McMaster’s best wins of the season — good adversity to have in the bank for a playoff run that starts this weekend.

Windsor is a team that can give Mac a run for their money, but McMaster is confident they can dictate some of the game in their favor. The Lancers finished the regular season 11-8.

“Windsor has arguably had a good year. They’re doing some good things. #12 Shannon Dean is playing the best volleyball she has ever played in her career,” Louks said. “She’s probably going to command some double blocks from us. That being said, some of their other players are going to have to step up and play.”

McMaster finished 16-3, with a 9-1 home record and a 7-2 away record. They enter their OUA quarterfinal match ranked No. 7 in the nation.

Head Coach Louks knows that Windsor will be a tough game but the team is ready to defend the house.

“We’ve earned this playoff match. This is the only one we get to play at home so let’s enjoy it. Let’s go to work,” he added.

No. 7 McMaster hosts Windsor in an OUA quarterfinal on Friday Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m. in the Burridge Gym.

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