Marauders men’s volleyball sweeps their way through the first round as they head into a semi-final matchup against a historically difficult opponent
Mateusz Wlodarski with the recovery, Robbie Fujisawa with the set and Thomas Williams seals the deal with a spike to secure the third and final set. It’s not just déjà vu. The closer has struck again.
After a disappointing finish to their 2021-2022 national championship run, the Marauders made sure that they would not be upset again by way of a dominant victory and sweep against the Saskatchewan Huskies. The second seeded Marauders did away with the seventh seeded Huskies with final set scores of 25-19, 25-20, and 25-20.
The Huskies immediately move into the consolation bracket, where the best result they can achieve is a fifth place finish. The Marauders will continue on into the semi-final round, where they will face off against the western powerhouse Trinity Western University Spartans. The Spartans have proven a challenge for head coach Dave Preston and co. historically speaking, having taken four of the last six matchups.
“They’re one of the premier programs in the country. . . You’re into the top of the top, there’s no ducking. This is what [fans] pay for, this is why we’re here, this is what we want to do. Are we concerned? No. Are we excited? Yeah, very,” said Preston.
“They’re one of the premier programs in the country. . . You’re into the top of the top, there’s no ducking. This is what [fans] pay for, this is why we’re here, this is what we want to do. Are we concerned? No. Are we excited? Yeah, very.”
Dave Preston, Head Coach
The major points of optimism from this game come in the form of superstar Sam Cooper, and breakout star Brendan Mills. After a concerning provincial championship game, Cooper is finally looking like himself again, finishing as the game leader in both kills, and aces. Meanwhile, Mills would continue showcasing his balanced style of play, taking home player of the game honors.
In a strong team showing overall, the game would finish in a familiar style with the closer, Thomas Williams, locking up the victory, just as he did to secure the Marauders the provincial championship one week ago. The team will look to continue their high level of play on Mar. 18 at 6:00 PM on their quest to the finals.
Marauders men’s volleyball continues to deal with wavering health as they head into the first round of the OUA playoffs
With the playoffs set to begin, the Marauders playoff rotation remains unclear. Maxime Gratton will be sidelined for the first-round matchup due to a lower body injury, while Sam Cooper will be a game time decision as a result of a foot fracture that kept him sidelined through the second half of the season.
Cooper, a 2021-2022 OUA first team all-star, as well as a 2021-2022 U Sport second team all-Canadian, is an integral part of the team, and the lack of his presence has been felt heavily of late. Losing another star player in Gratton has just made things that much harder for the team.
“[Cooper's] on his return to train, but we won’t put him in a position where he’s not ready. If he is ready then we kind of have to ease him into game mode because he hasn’t played since early January. Even if he was ready [physically] I’m not sure if he would be ready to play. . . He’s chomping at the bit to get at the floor, but we have to do what’s best for their health and wellbeing,” said Dave Preston, the head coach.
"[Cooper’s] on his return to train, but we won’t put him in a position where he’s not ready. If he is ready then we kind of have to ease him into game mode because he hasn’t played since early January. Even if he was ready [physically] I’m not sure if he would be ready to play."
Dave Preston, Men's Volleyball Coach
Between injuries to Cooper and Gratton, as well as load management for regulars Mateusz Wlodarski and Tyler Pavelic due to the growing urgency for health bodies, the Marauders have struggled of late.
McMaster dropped their final two games of the regular season, snapping their perfect record on the year while also suffering their first regular season loss since 2020, and their first back-to-back loss since the 2016 season.
Despite having lost Cooper in January, the Marauders maintained their position atop the standings, finishing in the first seed. Their first-round playoff matchup is none other than the Toronto Metropolitan University Bold – the team who ended the Marauders hopes of perfection in the second last game of the season.
“A 20-0 regular season was never something we talked about, it was never one of our goals. Our first goal was to secure as much home court advantage through the playoffs as we could, and we did that. . . There’s two ways you look at it; sometimes you win, sometimes you learn,” explained Preston.
The upcoming game is an opportunity for revenge against the bold, and there is a sense of growing anticipation amongst the team. They are confident, and ready for their shot at redemption.
“Yes, there is a lot of excitement to play them again. . . They played great when we played them down there, they earned every point of that victory, but it’s a new match Saturday,” said Preston
“Yes, there is a lot of excitement to play them again. . . They played great when we played them down there, they earned every point of that victory, but it’s a new match Saturday."
Dave Preston, Men's Volleyball Coach
Heading into the playoffs, the team has spent their reading week preparing. As for what has changed in the past week, the answer is nothing. There is a reason the team has had so much success in recent years, and why they were able to put together such a strong season again this year. Now they’re ready to trust the process when it comes to playoff prep.
“Absolutely nothing [changed], the guys know what it takes. We’ve done it day in and day out for the last seven months. This isn’t something to change anything, this is the time to trust your training. . . It was really good to see two days prior to how locked in they were. The communication was impressive, the focus was impressive. These guys know what they’re doing. This isn’t a time for change, this is a time for trust,” said Preston.
The highly anticipated game will take place on Feb. 25 at 8:00 PM in Burridge Gym, as a result of the team having secured home court advantage throughout. It will immediately follow the women’s playoff game at 6:00 PM.
The Marauders earn 13 medals and the top spot at the McMaster invitational in a dominant start to their season
The McMaster wrestling team took on their first season meet of the year at the McMaster University invitational held on Oct. 30. Hosted at the university’s own Burridge gymnasium, the Marauders came away with multiple medals across different weight classes from both the men and women’s divisions. Overall, the team pulled away with a first place victory, scoring 85 points to edge past the University of Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas who managed 84 points in the contest.
Following their home opening dual meet against Alberta on Oct. 29, the Marauders entered their regular season high off of last year’s silver medal performances at the Ontario University Athletic Championships. Featuring rosters packed with youth and talent, both the men and women teams dominated the McMaster invitational with outstanding matches on the mats.
On the women’s side, athletes Ligaya Stinellis, Serena Di Benedetto and Macy Malysiak secured gold medals for the 50kg, 53kg and 56kg events respectively. A three-time competitor for Team Canada and a new recruit for the team this year, Di Benedetto won by technical fall over Taylor Mcpherson for an impressive start to the season. Stinellis and Malysiak, who landed podium placements at their individual events during last year’s championships, also delivered strong performances for the Marauders.
Individual success at the meet aside, it was very important for members, such as Malysiak, to take advantage of the regular season for the team’s growth, development and playoff preparation. They managed to do just that, making the most of the meet.
“Like our coaches say, everybody wants to win, but you sometimes want to put yourself in uncomfortable positions and situations so that you can learn from them. All these tournaments are just a learning block before the big ones,” said Malysiak.
“Like our coaches say, everybody wants to win, but you sometimes want to put yourself in uncomfortable positions and situations so that you can learn from them. All these tournaments are just a learning block before the big ones.”
Macy Malysiak, women's wrestling team
Rounding out the other medalists, Betty Huang, Similoluwa Jayeoba and Tehani Blais captured three more silver medals for the women’s team. Vanessa Fonrose also added a bronze medal for her performance in the 76kg matches.
Leading the charge for the men’s team, Gregor McNeil took home the team’s lone gold, winning by injury default against Mahir Sabat from York University in the first place 61kg match. Francesco Fortino, Irman Kang and Jonathan Vecchio also earned three silver medals for the maroon and grey team. Finally, both Gianluca Fortino and Howard Moffatt ended with third place finishes in the 65kg and 90kg matches respectively.
Along with Di Benedetto, McNeil is also a first year recruit for the McMaster wrestling program with past experience on Team Canada. Of the 13 total medals won by the Marauders, six were won by athletes in their debut season with the wrestling program. Such achievements speak volumes to the team’s future potential.
“I honestly am just consistently excited because this is the best recruitment class that we’ve had for a long time . . . I do think that we are achieving more than we have in the past and so I think that this is going to continue on in the long run,” said Stinellis.
“I honestly am just consistently excited because this is the best recruitment class that we’ve had for a long time . . . I do think that we are achieving more than we have in the past and so I think that this is going to continue on in the long run.”
Ligaya Stinellis, women's wrestling team
After the meets, both the men and women’s teams rank high atop the U Sports wrestling power rankings. On the leaderboards, the women came second place in the country while the men finished in third.
The Marauders will soon travel to Toronto, taking the mats at the Toronto Metropolitan University invitational on Nov. 13. Later in the winter, they will take on the OUA wrestling championships on Feb. 11 and the U Sports championship held from Feb. 24 to Feb. 26.
With seven more meets still on their schedule, both teams will have plenty of time to prepare for the postseason title run in 2023.
Both the men's volleyball team and women's basketball team took the weekend by storm with two victories each, while the men's basketball and women's volleyball teams won one out of their two games. Here are the stars of the weekend.
The second-year is no stranger to the Pita Pit Athlete of the Week award, most recently winning the weekend honour on Nov. 15, 2018, when she scored a career-high of 24 points. This weekend, she poured in 19 points for the Marauders in both of the team’s wins. Gates who was called to the 2018 Ontario University Athletics All-Rookie team, shot 50 per cent from the field and 40 per cent from the three, as well as collecting four rebounds in the win over Wilfrid Laurier University. Against the University of Guelph, she hit three of eight shots from three, and gave the team four steals and four rebounds.
Right side @MattColeP from @MACMVB and @macwbball guard Sarah Gates are the @PitaPitCanada Athletes of the Week. @mcmasteru #GoMacGo
READ ⬇️https://t.co/u7nAO5cvSh
— McMaster Marauders (@McMasterSports) January 14, 2019
After sitting out due to injury, Passalent hit the court for the first time of the regular season and did not miss a beat, being recognized as the Pita Pit Athlete of the Week for his efforts. Facing two U Sports top-10 opponents this weekend, the Marauders took home two victories and Passalent was a big part of both. The fourth-year had 10 kills, two aces and a block assist for 12.5 points Saturday against University of Windsor, and 15 kills and 18.5 points against Western University, which bumped them up to #4 in the national rankings.
There are 4️⃣ @mcmasteru teams ranked in this week's @usportsca Top 10s, with @MACMVB and men's wrestling both moving up two spots!
♂️🏐⬆️4️⃣
♀️🏀↔️4️⃣
🤼♂️⬆️6️⃣
🤼♀️↔️9️⃣#GoMacGo pic.twitter.com/qqPgOWV8jK— McMaster Marauders (@McMasterSports) January 15, 2019
In the Marauders’ second victory of the New Year, coming against the Guelph Gryphons, McCulloch contributed 23 points shooting 64 per cent from the field. The 97-80 road win seemed like just the fire the Marauders needed to bring it home and win again. Unfortunately, the Laurier Golden Hawks had other plans. Despite the fifth-year guard being the second highest leading scorer of the game with 15 points, the Golden Hawks came for revenge and defeated the Marauders 87-73 at home.
Narin led the Marauders offensively in both games against Windsor and Western this weekend. With 17 kills and 23 points, including five aces and a solo block, she helped Mac defeat Western on Saturday night in the fifth set. Narin, a right side, also led offensively the night before in the loss to Windsor, with 14 kills, three aces and a block assist for a team- and match-high 17.5 points.
This weekend McMaster basketball will face the Lakehead University Timberwolves in back-to-back home games this weekend, with the women playing at 6:00 p.m. and the men at 8:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Both volleyball teams will then take over Burridge on Sunday, as the women and men host the Brock University Badgers this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. respectively.
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