Tobi Abdul

Staff Reporter

With a healthy roster for the first time in the regular season, McMaster women’s volleyball team proved that they have what it takes to be a powerhouse team as they defeated the visiting Lakehead Thunderwolves in a weekend double header Nov. 8 and Nov. 9.

McMaster took the match 3-0 on Nov. 8, in arguably their best match of the season, playing with a rhythm and consistency that had not been seen thus far.

This match was the season debut for previously injured middle Taylor Brisebois who came back full swing aiding the team defensively at the net and offensively with an impressive six skills.

“It feels amazing to be back playing with the team, I missed it a lot. The most frustrating thing was to not be able to contribute at all, just doing my best cheering from the sidelines,” Brisebois said.

“I think we just have been practicing really hard and slowly but surely, as a young new team, will find a rhythm.”

Lakehead took the early lead of the match at 6-2, but great defence from the Marauders tied the score at 10-10. The Thunderwolves outplayed McMaster for the next 6 points, bringing the score to 16-10 but didn’t see many points after that as McMaster ended the set 25-18.

The start of the second set saw an even playing field for both teams as the score was tied 10-10 before McMaster gained momentum and dominated the next points, bringing the score to 16-10 at the technical timeout. McMaster continued to lead and won 25-16, now leading the game 2-0.

McMaster started out strong in what would be the final set of the match, taking an early lead of 9-6. Lakehead fought back hard and for the third time in the match, the score was tied at 10-10. McMaster played with accuracy and skill and led 16-12 at the technical time out. They continued to widen their gap with stellar serving from Sophie Bukovec, and Big Mac Player of the Match, Mira Krunic.

The Marauders showed that they had found their rhythm as four players had five or more kills during the game, with Bukovec leading with 10 kills. Offensively, the Marauders were looking strong, but were even stronger on defence with Brisebois being a big help at the net, and Krunic on the floor with seven digs.

This rhythm continued into the second game of the weekend on Nov. 9 as the Marauders took the match 4-1.

The Marauders proved that they were a team full of talented players as Saturday’s game saw a rotation of hitters and nine out of 11 players had at least one kill during the match with a match total of 42 hits. The most consistency came from the middles with Brisebois scoring 14 points, including 11 kills and Maicee Sorensen scored 12 points with six kills but overall, Marauders played an impressive match, including great plays from every player.

McMaster had an impressive start to the game wasting no time and soon had a lead of 15-11. The Marauders continued to demonstrate that they were both an offensively strong team as well as a defensively strong team and outscored the Thunderwolves 6-3 to bring the score to 21-14. Rebecca Steckle scored the last two points with consecutive kills, bringing the set to an end at 25-18.

The second set saw a sloppy Marauder team unable to get the ball cheapest viagra to buy online in uk up to the setter and overall inconsistent passing. Despite attempts to shake up the rotation with substitutes, the Marauders were unable to find their footing and Lakehead took the lead of 16-13 at the technical timeout. McMaster was unable to improve scoring and lost the set 25-18.

The Marauders started out strong in the third set taking an early lead but quickly lost momentum, allowing Lakehead to outshine them. After a time out called by head coach Tim Louks, a new McMaster team stepped onto the court, one with precision, accuracy and communication, taking a 16-13 lead at the technical timeout. After a solid kill from Joanna Jedrzejewska, the Marauders would pick up speed and continue to dominate, taking the set 25-16 thanks to a final ace by Steckle.

The fourth set was one of incredible defence, including amazing combo blocks by Lauren Mastroluisi and Maicee Sorenson. McMaster continued with unparalleled consistency and went into the technical timeout with a 16-11 lead. Mastroluisi played a solid set, an even more solid match with 8 kills. A double touch by Lakehead would give McMaster the set 25-19 and the match 3-1.

The Marauders continue to improve their rhythm with each game played and their success in the weekend’s games can be attributed to communication and consistency.

“We brought a consistent energy to the court right from the beginning of the game to the end, not allowing small mistakes to get us down,” says Sorenson. “Instead we came together as a team and played how we should have been playing the whole time”

The Marauders hope to continue their winning streak as they will travel to Guelph on Nov. 15 to take on the Gryphons then return back home to host the Brock Badgers Nov. 17.

The Marauders men’s volleyball team knew that they would be in for a tough challenge on Friday night against the Ryerson Rams, and although the team was able to take down the Rams in three sets, Coach Preston believes that the Rams still gave them a hard time, especially in the second set.

“I think Ryerson did a pretty good job. I think it really showed in the second set, how much stress they could put us under … their middles really stepped up, and we didn’t do a very good job on that” said Preston.

The Marauders still managed to hold them off, however, by maintaining their concentration in the third set to come out on top with a big win.

This win came after a great start, which saw the Marauders get off to an early lead which made it easier for them to come out on top when it mattered most in the third set.

“I know for the first five or six minutes in the match, we kind of smothered them, we kind of shocked them,” said Preston.

Preston credits the performance and the shock factor for the Rams to his offence, particularly setter Austin Campion-Smith.

“It was our best passing match that we’ve had this year. So Austin Campion-Smith had his best offense available to him all night long, our passers did a ridiculously good job in that regard. So offensively, it was really, really smooth.”

Preston refers to Campion-Smith as the orchestrator of the team, as there are some key players in the match that score some big points, but Campion-Smith’s job is to provide them with a great pass which results in their points in the first place.

“The guy behind the orchestra, the conductor is Austin. He finds out what we’ve got, what they are doing, who is going to be open and then he goes with it. The good news is when he calls Jori’s number, Jori is ready to go. And when he calls Jayson’s number, Jayson is ready to go…He is a combined middle linebacker and the quarterback. He’s got to see everything, and execute it all. So we have prepped him pretty good.”

Campion-Smith called Mantha’s number often against the Rams, as Mantha was the leading scorer for the Marauders, getting up to a total of 14 points, which is something that Preston is not surprised by.

“He hit over .500, so he is serving so well right now,” said Preston.

“He’s putting tremendous pressure on the opponent, he is blocking; we had him matched up on their number one hitter, defensively in the back corner he is making the right moves, and the right reads, and he is our cheap viagra‎ leader right now, he is our guy, he is our Big Mac,” added Preston.

The good thing about the team is also the fact that if Mantha has a bad game, there are multiple people that can fill in for that person – so it won’t be too much of a burden for the team in high-pressured situations.

“If for some reason he is not on, on a given night, other guys can step up, but Jori is being the leader that he wants to be right now. It’s nice for him to get the recognition because he has worked really hard,” said Preston.

The Marauders were able to take advantage of their offensive talent to come out on top against the Rams, and this is something they will have to bring into the game against Queen’s this Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Burridge Gym.

Preston has pointed out some key opponents that stand out on the Queen’s team, and are sure to provide the Marauders with a tough challenge.

“They’ve got three excellent read blockers in the middle, so they can shut down the middle of the court. Their libero is outstanding. He is a Bulgarian kid, and only second year but plays much, much older and more mature than that. So they are solid and really, really well coached,” said Preston.

This is something that the Marauders are prepared for, however, and Preston is very familiar with their style, having played the Queen’s Gaels several times in previous season match-ups.

“We are very, very familiar with Queen’s, we’ve played them a lot in the past, so we’re ready for the challenge, but the challenge will be big.”

The Marauder cross country team ran to the best of their potential at the CIS championships at the Thames Valley Golf Course in London, Ont. – a course that they are very familiar with, from last year’s CIS Championships.

The women’s team finished in 6th place overall, while the men’s team finished 4th overall, which was their best finish at the championships since 2000.

The men’s team managed to pull off an incredible performance and finish despite missing one of the best runners on the team—Connor Darlington.

“He came down with a lower-body injury. The day before the meet he indicated that he was 95 per cent sure that this wasn’t going to be something he could run through. He’s a big time team player and we know it hurt him to have to admit this. Hopefully he is back healthy soon and ready to do some damage in the indoor cheapest generic cialis season,” said coach Rory Sneyd on the situation.

This ended up not being an issue for the team, however, as several runners stepped up in the high-pressured situation to have strong finishes overall.

The most impressive of these performances included Lionel Sanders, who finished in tenth place overall, and captain Blair Morgan, who finished in 11th place overall, which was a huge improvement from last year’s CIS championships, where he finished 46th overall

“Blair proved that his OUA performance was no fluke,” said Sneyd.

The third runner in for the Marauders was Gabe Ghiglione in 20th place – which was also an incredible performance on his part, as he finished in 44th place at the OUA championships two weeks before.

“Gabe was a game-changer having been 44th at the OUA meet, and then 20th at CIS meet – that just isn’t done. Had he been our 4th or 5th man, our men are on that podium. He’s a special athlete and I look forward to seeing his progress in coming years,” added Sneyd.

Rounding out the score for the Marauders was Taylor Forbes in 36th place, while his brother Austen Forbes finished in 37th.

Although the men’s team missed making it to the podium this round, the future of the team is looking promising, with several runners returning next year, and other top high school recruits expressing their interest in McMaster for next year.

“All five of our scorers return, plus Connor, and guys like Nick Kondrat, Paul Rochus, Jeramie Lai, Luke Charbonneu, and Nick Belore. We have at least three of the top ten senior boys from OFSAA sincerely interested in McMaster. The men are going to be podium contenders for years to come,” said Sneyd.

As for the women’s team, Sneyd is proud of their 6th place accomplishment, and feels as though they are proud also and have reached their goal of the season, especially after facing some major challenges and setbacks throughout the season.

“Going into the meet, we talked about beating some teams that we had previously faced and thought we could beat – Windsor, Dalhousie, and McGill. We knew that the teams from out west were big question marks so we did not set our sights on Trinity Western or Victoria because we were not sure how good they might be. We felt the top four OUA schools would be tough to beat. It ended up that Trinity Western ran well and our women were able to beat Victoria. The women talked about being proud of their team effort and I think they achieved their goal,” said Sneyd.

The women’s team will be losing their oldest member, Courtney Patterson, for next season, which Sneyd believes is a loss for the team, but nothing that will set them back from winning a medal.

“She contributed to five OUA team medals and four CIS team medals. We knew we could count on Courtney and she is definitely a big loss for the program.”

But Sneyd knows that the women’s program will only improve from here, as the goal is to get on the CIS podium once again.

“We expect to get some quality recruits and the goal for next year is to be back on the OUA and CIS podiums,” said Sneyd.

As for the people that stood out in the race on the women’s team, Sneyd credits grad student Kierstin Myers, and leader Maddy McDonald for their outstanding performances.

“Kierstin Myers stands out. To be so close to Courtney was quite impressive. Maddy McDonald also ran great. She ran conservatively and was less than ten seconds off being an all-Canadian again. It was a trying season for her, both physically and emotionally, and she performed admirably despite these tribulations,” added Sneyd.

The team will now take a much-needed break before getting into training again for the track season, which gets underway in January.

Connor Darlington was prepared to go far away for university. His plan all along was to get a full-ride scholarship from a good school in the United States, and to run with some of the best collegiate runners in North America in the NCAA.

This was something that was not out of reach for him, as he was always a stand-out runner in high school, winning numerous OFSAA medals, and qualifying for the Canadian junior cross country team as an 18-year old.

“For the most part throughout high school, I was thinking of going to the States,” said Darlington.

Darlington had offers from Southern Utah University, University of Missouri, University of Mississippi, Liberty University, and Iona College. He ended up getting a full-ride scholarship with Iona College, and signed there, as he felt like the school was a good fit for him.

“Iona was my top choice. I signed there confidently, expecting to go the States. And it was only two months later that I decided maybe Canada is right for me.”

For Darlington, it was not the coaches, or the college itself that was the problem. He simply just did not know if going to the States on a full-ride scholarship was the right choice for him.

“I did an official visit. It was great. I loved the school, the coaches were good. I think a big fear amongst Canadians going to the states is that you are going to get a coach who is pretty intense, they will break you down, but these coaches were very good, and very prepared to work with me.”

But Darlington is the type of runner that has suffered from several injuries in the past, and was hoping to be able to receive individual attention from the coaches. This is hard to come by in the States, where exceptionally talented athletes come in numbers.

It wasn’t all about the pressure for Darlington. At the end of the day, it came down to his injury problems in the past, and the expectations that go along with a full-ride scholarship that made him look more seriously at Canadian schools.

“In a full-ride, there is an expectation that you perform and train and give them the results as an investment in the athlete and in the school. There is a little bit of pressure. I wasn’t too concerned about the pressure, but I knew that I am the type of runner that needs individual attention and I have had a past of injuries before. I wanted to make sure I was in an environment that would not have me injured and gave me some freedom to do what I need to do. That is a big concern for the [United States].”

The running program at McMaster turned out to be the best fit for Darlington, as he knew that he would have the freedom to train how he wanted, would receive great coaching from Rory Sneyd, Paula Schnurr and Pete Self, and at the same time, would not run into the kind of injury problems that he feels he may have suffered in the States.

“Going into first year, I wasn’t 100 percent healthy. In the time, I have been able to overcome [injuries] and take the steps that I need to be healthy. Right now, I am probably 95 percent healthy, only small things, which is pretty good as far as injuries go.”

Other than the individual attention, a huge part of Darlington’s decision to come to McMaster was the fact that he started to gear his training towards triathlons, and knew that there were facilities here that could help him with this. He also had teammates from triathlon-training that were on the Marauders cross country and track team, and convinced him to come.

“The only reason I started to change was because I started to cross-train more and I got interested in triathlons, that led me to look at Canadian options because triathlons are bigger, as far as University goes, in Canada than it is in the States. That made me start to look more locally this side of the border,” said Darlington.

“The thing that made me come to McMaster is definitely the combination of having the coaches and also the triathlon teammates which would be easily accessible at McMaster. I was on the fence cialis online between running and triathlons and I knew it had the combination of good running coaches and the right facilities to train for triathlons” added Darlington.

He also liked the fact that there was not a lot of risk involved with his decision to come to McMaster, compared with his decision to go to the States.

“It was the best of both worlds with low risk. Going to the [United States] you have more risk involved, as money is on the line,” added Darlington.

With the addition of Darlington on the roster, the Marauders have been able to shock some people, winning their first OUA medal in years. Darlington feels as though this is a sign of things to come for the future of the men’s running team at McMaster.

“The general trend is that fast teams usually attract faster recruits. I am hoping that with our success this year, we will be able to attract even more recruits,” Darlington said.

As for the team currently, Darlington feels as though they too will improve even more so than they have already, because of their youth.

“As far as the team goes, we are a young team, most of our guys are in their second or third eligibility year with the exception of a couple…I think that we can recruit more talent. That has been the case with the Guelph team as well, they have created a power house and they attract more runners. I think [McMaster] will do that as well.”

Before Darlington thinks about the possibilities of next season, however, this season still isn’t over yet.

The Marauders men’s team will look to capture their first CIS medal in a very long time this weekend, In London Ont. at the CIS Championships. This is a race that Darlington feels he is prepared for.

“I have never been as excited about a team medal as I have been for this race because I think that it is a genuine possibility,” said Darlington.

“I am hoping to land in the Top 15 and hopefully that bodes well for our team to follow up with a couple low scores. I think we can get a medal.”

As for his decision to stay and compete in Canada, as opposed to the United States, Darlington could not be happier with it.

“Sometimes I think about the alternatives, as I am sure everyone does. But I think staying in Canada was the best fit for me.”

Don’t call it an upset; they’ve been here for years.

McMaster took down the No. 4 ranked Ryerson Rams, 74-64 to earn one of the most important victories the program has seen since defeating Windsor in the 2012 playoffs.

The reason it’s not an upset though, is because this is exactly what the team is capable of.

“We definitely thought they were a beatable team,” said Nathan Pelech, a fifth-year forward.

And McMaster backed that belief out of the gate, finishing the first quarter up 21-18 – capped off with a Pelech buzzer-beating three.

McMaster would “weather the storm” Ryerson threw at them in the, as the fifth-year put it, and then put on a fourth quarter run behind seven straight Joe Rocca points.

An important note about the victory was who made up the minutes.

Taylor Black had two fouls with 3:41 left in the first quarter, forcing him to sit until half.

Nathan McCarthy did not play either game this weekend as he recovers from a concussion.

After beating the No. 4 Rams by a double-digit margin, McMaster looked ahead to the weekly CIS rankings to see where, and if, they would fall among them.

The Marauders received votes, but not enough to put them in the top-ten.

Some players were surprised, but the veteran Pelech understands that it’s still early.

“Coming off a big win like that, you’d like to have some recognition. If we have two good weekends in a row, that will speak for itself,” said Pelech, who also pointed to an up-and-down preseason that.

Head coach Amos Connolly told the team after the game that he was “proud of them and happy for them”.

“I think the guys saw what happens when you work hard. As a team, they played with a confidence level and a trust in each other,” said Connolly. “It was a well-deserved win.”

What particularly stood out to the coaching staff was the defense.

Aaron Best, a player who averaged 15.3 points per game in 2012-13 and lit McMaster up for 34 points, was held to five points.

Jahmal viagra online Jones, another Ram with offensive gifts, scored 18 points on 6-15 field goal shooting but turned the ball over seven times.

“We had a couple periods of time where we kept [Ryerson] virtually scoreless. That’s what I’m happiest with – holding his team to 64,” said Connolly.

McMaster gave the home crowd a glimpse into the ceiling of this game.

They played tough and remained calm when Ryerson made their inevitable runs.

Leon Alexander put the clamps down on defense while getting under the Rams’ skin – including forcing an ejection of Yannick Walcott by playing physical in the paint.

Following the game, the team’s spirits were high.

The Monday practice was not the best effort, but the team rebounded the following day after realizing how far they have to go.

This weekend, McMaster takes on a team that received more votes than them for the top-ten but also did not qualify for the rankings in the Laurentian Voyageurs.

The Vees have opened the season 2-0 and have not missed a beat after losing Manny Pasquale.

After the trip to Sudbury, Ont., they’ll head to Sault Ste. Marie to play the Algoma Thunderbirds.

Despite it being their first weekend in OUA conference competition, Algoma earned a low-scoring victory over the Waterloo Warriors.

They lost to Laurier, putting them at 1-1.

The interlock periods have increased importance as they battle with ranked Windsor for top spot in the OUA West.

Starting out 2-0 was ideal, but now Mac looks to go 4-0.

If there we see a similar performance to the Ryerson match, an undefeated record is entirely possible.

Before the Marauders get on the court, and ready to go for a match, they do a lot of off-court training- which means speed, agility, and quickness work, which all takes place in several of McMaster’s facilities.

“We are trying to build capacity, or what I call “building a bigger tank” with sports specific movement and proper work-to-rest ratio. Without going into tremendous detail, we do a lot of circuit work, a lot of SAQ [speed, agility, quickness] work and we are working on some reaction stuff,” said head coach Dave Preston.

The Marauders do not get much of a break in that regard, as they train regularly five times a week, with two days a week on the court, and two days a week on the indoor track.

“Two days a week on the track, two days a week on court, five days a week practice and usually two matches. We are building [training] in pretty good; we are efficient with our time. We are not coasting in that regard,” added Preston.

All of this hard work and training has paid off so far, as the Marauders have been able to maintain a steady three game winning streak, with their most recent win coming against the Toronto Varsity Blues – which was one that they took quite easily in three sets.

This is something that Coach Preston says he is happy with, but not fully satisfied with. These are two terms that Preston finds to be completely different from one another.

“I think we are happy with where we are, are we satisfied with where we are? No. There is a difference there. I don’t know if we truly ever will be because there is always going to be something more. Say you win a championship, well then we will want two. There is always going to be bigger, faster and stronger,” said Preston.

Preston also feels as though the team needs to not get caught in a trap of playing just good enough to beat the other team. He wants the team to play to their best potential all of the time.

“The biggest thing that I am on [the team] about is trying not to let them do what they can get away with. Can we get away with playing at this level to beat this team? That is a trap we do not want to get into. We want to play at our absolute best as often as possible, as long as possible.”

This is why the Marauders are currently working on their endurance, so they can win not just the first and second set, but maintain this power to win the third, fourth and fifth sets as well, not allowing the team they are facing to make a comeback.

Preston thinks that online viagra in order for the Marauders to pull out a clean, and close-to-perfect win, they need to concentrate on communication.

“What we are working on right now is making better decisions at the time that they need to be made, communicating those decisions to each other and then executing the game plan that is designed around that decision,” said Preston.

There is not a lack of communication with the team; but he feels as though it can be developed further to make the Marauders close to perfect.

“It is not a lack, it is a development. We cannot do stage four, until we have done stages one, two and three. We have one, two and three in place now. We can start to move on to stage four and then we can do it faster, which is stage five” added Preston.

In the game against the Toronto Varsity Blues, the Marauders were able to demonstrate their dominance, with Jayson McCarthy standing out as the player of the game, with 12 points for the Marauders, converting seven of 15 hitting attempts and adding two service aces, two solo blocks and two block assists.

This is something that Preston knows is a combination of natural talent, hard work and determination.

“The stuff that he has been working hard at is his blocking and his serving. What people saw on Saturday afternoon was a result of him putting in probably 18 months of hard work…He has some God-given natural talent and we are very blessed and thankful that he is a Marauder. But, he works his tail off at certain things too” said Preston.

Preston, McCarthy and the Marauders will try and bring their talent to the game against the Ryerson Rams, where they will be up against powerful hitter Robert Wojcik, who Preston believes will be a force to be reckoned with.

“Robert Wojcik is a load. He was on Team Ontario with a number of our guys this summer, and he’s similar to Jayson McCarthy. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s dynamic, and he carries that Ryerson team. They’ve got a lot of other pieces around him, but we’re talking about one of the eighth ranked teams in the country. These guys are great.”

Preston and his No. 2 ranked team are up for whatever challenge Robert Wojcik and the Rams may bring, however, and are excited to play against a team that Preston knows will bring their best game to the Burridge Gym this Friday night at 8:00 p.m.

“We don’t want to win because everyone else is a little bit worse than us. We expect them to be on top of their game on Friday, no doubt about it. And we will be too.”

Tobi Abdul

Staff Reporter

Despite a highly promising pre-season run, the McMaster women's volleyball team is off to a rocky start. The team pulled their first win last week against the Western Mustangs but lacked the momentum to keep their winning streak going when they took on the Toronto Varsity Blues at Burridge Gym on Nov. 2.

The game, ending in a heartbreaking score of 3-1, showed just how different the team is in comparison to the pre-season.

"We have different personnel right now. Our injury reserve is long and that's probably had the biggest impact on our season," said women’s head coach Tim Louks.

Even though they were missing a few key players, McMaster started the first set off strong, taking an early lead of 8-5. After a time out, Toronto started playing strong defense, and McMaster's momentum ended, giving Toronto a chance to take a 16-14 lead. McMaster was unable to catch up and Toronto took the set 25-21.

Toronto took the early lead of 7-5, causing the Marauders to try and fight back. Offensively, McMaster was a little weak with a kill percentage of -6.5% in the second set.  Toronto continued to dominate the entire set, causing McMaster to pick up speed with a stellar block from Mira Krunic to make the score 18-12 Toronto. McMaster continued to fight, with no avail, as Toronto now led 2-0 with a set score of 25-17.

Toronto may have taken a lead of 6-4, but it was a different Marauders team that emerged during the second half of the third set. Toronto continued to lead but great defense and a huge hit from Maicee Sorenson gave McMaster the momentum they needed to turn the set around. Two consecutive aces from Player of the Game Joanna Jedrzejewska gave McMaster a lead of 13-12 for the first time since the first set. McMaster's inconsistent offense allowed Toronto to take back a lead of 17-14. Marauders take the lead just 3 points away from game point and are able to keep it up to take the set at 25-23, making the score 2-1 Toronto.

This set was a crucial one for McMaster, shown by amazing defensive skills that had not been present thus far in the match. Despite this, Toronto managed to take a lead of 5-0. The Marauders were giving their all on the court but it just wasn't enough as Toronto continued to lead 18-7. With things looking grim, the Marauders started playing aggressively with accurate passes, smart plays, and amazing combo blocks from Sorenson and Jedrzejewska. McMaster began closing the gap with a score of 22-14, but Toronto won the set 25-16, taking the game 3-1.

It became evident that consistency, momentum, and communication were needed to ensure wins in upcoming games.

"Probably the most significant thing is chasing our consistency," said Louks. "Volleyball moves so quickly point to point and each point can be dramatically different from the point before and the point after. That shapes our momentum differently. If we can get [the team] to focus and refocus more frequently, more consistently, that should help us in terms of playing each point independent of the others"

For the team, the rest of the season will be about finding their rhythm and playing a consistent game.

"We have to learn to finish sets and work collectively on the court. We need to bring what we do in practice into games and the main thing is just to communicate," said Maicee Sorenson, who had a phenomenal eight kills during the match.

The Marauders clearly have the skills needed in order to turn their season around, it's just a question of whether they can communicate on the court and keep momentum going through consistent plays.

"Every match for us is certainly a chance to be a little bit better and going into the matches this weekend, it will be a matter what personnel based on who's healthy and who's been practicing. That kind of information will have some effect, and then we can stabilize the consistent pieces of the games, so our serving and our passing," said Louks.

For McMaster, this weekend will be a test to what they can do as the McMaster Marauders take on buy soft viagra the Lakehead Thunderwolves at Burridge gym on Nov. 8 and Nov. 9, both at 6 p.m.

The McMaster women’s volleyball team has a lot to look forward to this season. Although their season hasn’t kicked off the way they would have hoped, the women’s volleyball team had an outstanding preseason run, not to mention the fact they landed recruit Sophie Bukovec.

The former beach volleyball player has represented Canada in both the U19 and U21 championships and has now committed to play a little closer to home.

The Etobicoke, Ont. native began her volleyball journey at age 11 becoming truly committed to the sport in her grade nine year.

Standing at a towering 6” 1’ it’s no surprise that Sophie decided to play volleyball instead of soccer, a sport she was originally committed to.

“I started out playing soccer actually,” Bukovec said. “But I soon figured out I was too tall for the sport.”

With is it legal to bye viagra from canada playing volleyball for McMaster being a new thing for the first year, her form and ability to read the game shows that her adjustment from beach to court volleyball has not been a difficult task.

“Beach is very independent,” Bukovec said. “You’re kind of on your own and have your own responsibilities but in court it’s kind of more shared because there are so many more people on the court.”

“I really like the team feeling and the girls are amazing,” she added.

Her commitment to the McMaster volleyball team she says was not a hard decision and it was the community feel that made it an easy decision.

“Mac was the only Canadian school I was looking at. I was also looking at Columbia University in the States, I was looking at Indiana, I looked at Michigan State, I looked at Syracuse and those were my top choices,” said the first year.

“I didn’t even get to see any of the girls play before I committed here I just met Tim and some of the girls, didn’t even see any of the facilities I just committed.”

So far her experience with the McMaster Marauders volleyball squad has been one she cherishes, commending the community feeling that McMaster encompasses.

“McMaster is such a home, its such a family community,” she said. “I have a really bad shoulder and physio has been taking care of me like I’m their own child.”

With the ability to travel to Greece and Portugal for world championships, Bukovec was the youngest Canadian women’s volleyball player ever to play on the women’s world tour event, which took place in Thailand last year.

“It was amazing just getting to play next to Olympians and girls that just play on tour,” Bukovec said.

“Just getting the chance to travel was amazing.”

With volleyball being a main part of her life and something that she has been committed to for over five years, Bukovec is hoping to gain a social aspect when it comes to getting to know her teammates and others at McMaster who play the sport.

“I have always been very independent and volleyball has always been my life, so I have never really ever gotten a social aspect of anything because I have been so competitive.”

“I hope to gain a social aspect in terms of knowing the girls on my team and even the guys team, and even different sports teams in general.”

With hopes for an improvement this season and the chance to capture an OUA title, Bukovec along with the women’s volleyball squad hope to maintain momentum and continue to work together to achieve success.

William Lou

The Silhouette

The McMaster Women’s Basketball team is off to a hot start to the season with a pair of victories in last week’s matchups versus the Toronto Varsity Blues and the Ryerson Rams.

The Marauders dominated both sides of the ball in last Friday’s win over the Varsity Blues. The Blues fought hard early, jumping out to an 8-7 lead at one point, but McMaster turned the game into a blowout with an 11-0 run to end the first. Mac stretched their lead to 35-19 by the half and the game ended with a final score of 70-35 in favor of the Marauders.

On cheapest line viagra offense, the inside-out tandem of Hailey Milligan and Danielle Boiago combined for 34 points and 20 rebounds while point guard Vanessa Bonomo chipped in with 8 assists. The overall team defense was extremely solid as they held the Varsity Blues to 26% shooting from the field, while also forcing a whopping 24 turnovers.

On the following night, McMaster played host to the Ryerson Rams. Coming off a deflating 38-point loss against the No. 7 ranked Brock Badgers, the Rams looked for redemption against the Marauders, but it was not to be. Led once again by Milligan and Boiago, McMaster earned a hard-fought 66-42 victory over the Rams.

The Marauders struggled to start the game as the Rams surged out to a 15-11 lead after the first, but Mac’s tenacious defense carried them the rest of the way, limiting Ryerson to 27 points scored over their last three quarters. McMaster forced the Rams into committing 36 turnovers and they outrebounded their opponent by 24 to ensnare their second victory.

Through two games, McMaster’s strength has clearly been its superb defense. By forcing their opponents into taking tough shots and creating turnovers, the Marauders have only allowed 38.5 points scored per game which is the lowest total in the OUA.

Offensively, they have been carried by shooting guard Boiago and power forward Milligan. Boiago’s scoring from the wing notably with her three-point shooting (43%) has opened up the floor for teammate Hailey Milligan, who is routinely facing double and even triple-teams. The dynamic duo is averaging a combined 35.5 points per game.

McMaster will travel to Sudbury, Ont. on Nov. 9 to take on the Laurentian Voyageurs who are 1-1 on the season. The following night, Mac will take on the newest member of the OUA – the Algoma Thunderbirds. The Sault Ste. Marie squad is 0-2.

Looking back at the 2011 or 2012 McMaster football seasons, it would be pretty hard to imagine a football game with anything less than a sold out crowd cheering in the stands. For the 2013 McMaster football team, that thought became a reality.

With the playoffs being questioned for most of the Marauder’s 2013 season it is hard to imagine the thought of a near empty Ron Joyce Stadium for a game like the quarterfinals. McMaster was taking on the statistically matched Ottawa Gee-Gees. It was almost a guarantee that Marauder fans would cash in to buy tickets to come out and watch their Maroon and Grey pummel that very same team the same way they did back at their home-opener in August. Sadly, the scene on Oct. 26 was in fact the exact opposite. Although weather certainly played a major role in the less than impressive attendance on Saturday’s game, the folks that did decide to attend were all dresses accordingly, not letting the lower than normal temperatures and the rain put a damper on their Marauder spirit.

Fifth-year player Michael DiCroce knows what it is like to play for a sold out at Ron Joyce Stadium and knows that this past weekend’s attendance was definitely something they were not expecting.

“The past couple years when we have been on top and winning, asking for support was simple but now that we haven’t been on top and we are doing things differently it has shown through lack of support,” said DiCroce

“Its unfortunate to think that they only want to be around when we are successful, because our true fans are out there for any game in any condition.”

Assistant Coach Jon Behie said the weather was definitely to blame but the low attendance was understandable.

“We typically haven’t had big crowds for quarterfinal games, but as we get further down the line in the playoffs that’s usually when we see higher attendance numbers,” Behie said.

“We weren’t overly surprised but certainly the weather played a big factor with attendance being as low as it was, and it’s disappointing but certainly understandable under the circumstances.”

Despite a much quieter than normal Ron Joyce Stadium, the Marauders and the coaching staff did not let that get in the way of their mission to defeat the Gee-Gee’s in order to continue on in the playoffs.

McMaster dominated with commending efforts from Wayne Moore who had 140 rushing yards in the game and Steven Ventresca who picked up a touchdown off an interception of Ottawa quarterback Aaron Colbon. McMaster was able to come out on top holding the Gee-Gees to a mere seven points with the final score reading 41-7 for the men in Maroon.

With the quarterfinals easily grasped, it’s now onto the semi-finals for the Marauders. Due to a Gryphons win over the Windsor levitra cialis viagra price Lancers, McMaster is matched up once again with their OUA rivals the Western Mustangs.

With top guns Matt Sewell and Joey Cupido all healthy and back in the roster, this Western game should certainly be a much different one for the McMaster Marauders. Mike DiCroce was also another key player who was out of the line-up the last time the Marauders laced up to face Western. With him and others back in, the Marauders are definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with.

“This week will be something else,” DiCroce said.

“It is always a full tilt battle when we play Western and being playoffs just adds to it.”

Looking back on previous seasons, knowing that the Marauders have previously taken out the Mustangs before puts some assurance back into their preparations for Saturday’s match.

“Knowing we have taken them out the past couple years in the big games has also added to the rivalry,” added DiCroce.

“It’s going to come down to how deep we can dig within ourselves to battle and win the effort war throughout the game.”

With TD Stadium expected to house more purple than maroon on Saturday it will all come down to McMaster’s integrity. It almost felt as though McMaster played an away game this past weekend, so being on the road in London, Ont. this weekend shouldn’t be a problem for the confident Marauders.

The semifinal game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. at the home of the Purple Ponies.