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The road ends here.

Regardless of what happens at the CIS Men’s Volleyball National Championship this weekend, McMaster’s historic season will end.

Since coming to McMaster in 2002, Head Coach Dave Preston has amassed a 247-77 overall record in his 14 seasons at the helm of the program. After beating Waterloo and Ryerson at the OUA Final Four last weekend, McMaster became freshly minted conference champs for the fourth consecutive year. McMaster has won seven of the last nine OUA banners. In addition to that, Preston has led McMaster to the CIS championships nine times in the last 11 years and has medaled three times (2013, 2014, 2015).

He’s a proven winner. His track record speaks for itself.

Preston enters this week boasting an impressive resumé having led his team tow a 22-3 record vs. CIS teams, producing four conference all-stars (Stephen Maar, Danny Demyanenko, Andrew Kocur, Pawel Jedrzejewski), and two OUA all-rookie team members (Craig Ireland and Matt Passalent). Up to now the Marauders have secured two of their three goals for the season. They’ve secured home court throughout the playoffs and they’ve won a conference title. Coach Preston has turned McMaster into a perennial powerhouse, but they are missing one thing: a national championship.

The closest McMaster has come to national glory was in 2013 when they were national runner-ups. Beyond that they’ve gotten two bronze medals in 2014 and 2015. Their 2016 outcome has yet to be determined.

“We’re where we want to be entering this weekend. One thing I told the team is to never take these things for granted. Sometimes when you win four conference titles in a row, you can take them for granted,” said Preston. “Winning OUA championships doesn’t get old. People dream of being OUA champions. I don’t want our guys to discount that prize. It’s a big deal and now there’s another big deal ahead of us.”

Last weekend at the OUA Final Four, Burridge Gym gave us a foretaste of what this weekend will be like. The gym was filled to the rafters and the Marauders had incredible support. There was no shortage of noise and each Marauder point against Waterloo and Ryerson would incite explosive applause from their faithful.

“I think our support around here from the top-down is unbelievable. It’s awesome for our student-athletes to be able to play in that environment,” said Preston. “I don’t want to take that for granted because not many student-athletes get to feel that. It was electric last weekend. I fully understand that this weekend will be even more electric.”

McMaster’s pride hasn’t gone unnoticed by visitors.

“The reason I know it’s amazing is because I hear student athletes from other schools talk about how awesome it is here,” said Preston. “I don’t want our guys to take our home environment for granted. We’re very well supported and I want our guys to appreciate that too. We’re going to take full advantage of it.”

For the first time in months, outside hitters Brandon Koppers and Andrew Richards returned to the floor, as did veteran middle Alex Elliott. All were missed and warmly welcomed by the fans. A mosaic of what McMaster has become was on full display last weekend with all-star upperclassmen and all-rookies playing side-by-side. Setter Andrew Kocur won OUA Final Four MVP and middle Danny Demyanenko won player of the match in the title game. OUA MVP Stephen Maar continued being his dominant self, leading the team in scoring throughout the weekend.

Teams cannot reduce McMaster to a single threat because they have a team of guys that can each dominate on any given night. The depth and rhythm are there and peaking at most important time of the year. A deep bench and contributions across the board are two trademarks of championship teams.

“This is what our guys signed up for. I even tell that to recruits. We go through our other matches so that we can get to these ones,” said Preston. “We do what we need to do in order to do what we want to do. Playing for a national championship is something we want to do and that’s what we’re going to take advantage of. Other student athletes can only dream of doing what we’re doing here.”

It’s a special time at McMaster. All eyes will be on Burridge from March 10-12. McMaster will be the center of the CIS volleyball world as schools from all over the country will be here to compete for national gold. Competing schools include the University of New Brunswick, Trinity Western, Alberta, Waterloo, Ryerson, Laval and Saskatchewan.

McMaster plays in a national quarterfinal at 8 p.m. on March 10 against a familiar foe in Waterloo. The stars have aligned up to now and it’s up to Mac to make program history.

“These opportunities are extremely rare for student athletes. To compete for a national championship on your homecourt in front of your home fans is as good as it gets. It’s an exciting opportunity for these guys,” said Preston. “My job is to make sure they’re prepared and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that happens. These are the things young guys dream about.”

Photo Credit: Jon White/ Photo Editor

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Brandon Meawasige

Assistant Sports Editor

By defeating the Windsor Lancers in Burridge Gymnasium this past weekend, the McMaster Marauders extended their winning streak to nine games, clinching not only a chance to pay in the final four but also a chance to compete for the national championship.

That chance, however, requires the upstart Marauders to head down the highway to Waterloo where they will play against the storied and CIS top-ranked Carleton University Ravens who have not lost a game this season.

To the Final Four, Mac head coach Amos Connolly brings with him a group of rookies that have impressed this year with their play on the court and development outside of the gym.

Guards Adam Presutti and Joe Rocca have received attention for their big play, leading the team in scoring on multiple occasions each. Going generally unnoticed until Saturday was the play of Aaron Redpath, a third rookie guard who has mad a contribution for the Maroon and Grey this season.

“He has done a very good job stepping up in Victor’s [Raso] absence, as has Joe Rocca. That was evident in the Windsor game. Both of them are getting a little more playing time because of the minutes that are available and I think in that game both of them capitalized on it. Aaron obviously made the biggest play of the game, arguably the play of the year in executing that steal,” said Connolly about the freshman.

With the Marauders leading by six points and just a minute to go in the game, Redpath came up with a steal that all but secured McMaster’s victory.

The absence of Raso, the third-year guard who is also the team’s emotional leader, has put the play of the three rookies under an even greater microscope. However, against a perennial powerhouse such as Carleton, one cannot help but think the Marauders would love to have Raso on the court for what is amongst the most important games in the history of McMaster’s basketball program.

“Looking at him not playing last Saturday, I think it drove him absolutely crazy. For him I think it was on the verge intolerable to not play in a game like that. Given this opportunity, that for us this is our biggest game that we have had and the biggest game of his career,” said Connolly of watching Raso on the bench for Saturday’s 77-67 victory of Windsor.

The coach quickly added “Concussions are something you have to be delicate with.”

With or without Raso, one thing is clear: the McMaster Marauders have proven to the entire conference that they can play basketball with their own physical and gritty style.

In the game against Windsor, the Marauders executed the team’s game plan, something Connolly hopes will translate into success against the top-ranked Ravens.

“Making sure there is a focus on being physical and getting boards, that’s going to be highlighted just as much if not even more on Friday,” he said.

The Marauders will tip off against Carleton as an underdog on Mar. 2 at 8 p.m. In sports, that can go one of two ways. A team can become inspired by their underdog status, but a team can also crumble underneath pressure and intimidation.

“For us it is trying to stay with what is working and focusing on ourselves,” said Connolly. “That being said, I stressed to them last night that my intention is not to lose to Carleton every year in the final four and feel like we have accomplished something.

“We want to play for a national championship, for us that means we have to win on Friday, Carleton can lose that game and get in with a wild card spot but we have to win. We are definitely playing that game with a mentality of putting our best foot forward to win; we are not playing that game with an “it’s okay if we lose” attitude,” said Connolly of his team’s outlook.

Win or lose on Friday, the Marauders have stormed onto the national scene this year with their surprise play and youthful confidence. Losing to the defending national champions would be no shameful conclusion to what has been a bright outlook on the future this season.

That being said, a win of this magnitude against the Ravens can do wonders for a budding program: just ask the Lakehead Thunderwolves, who won their first OUA title over the Ravens in last year’s Wilson Cup at McMaster.