After a productive season before the winter break, the Marauder's men's volleyball team looks forward to the second half of their season
The McMaster University men’s volleyball team began their season back in September, with a series of preseason exhibition games. The team faced opponents such as Queen’s University, Trinity Western University, and Ohio State University. They picked up a wide array of scores and results, with the team mostly losing their first games of 2023.
As they moved in their Ontario University Athletics season, the team quickly turned these defeats around. Under the guidance of new head coach Brad Douwes, the team has picked up a record of seven wins and two losses.
Under the guidance of new head coach Brad Douwes, the team has picked up a record of seven wins and two losses.
They recorded sweeping wins [again citations needs from these games] against the University of Waterloo, Toronto Metropolitan University and Guelph University to end off 2023. Newer team players have stepped up this season too, including first-year outside hitter Brady Paterson who has recorded 32 kills so far.
As McMaster's winter break commenced, the Marauder’s volleyball team continued to play. They kept in form as they played against the University of Sherbrooke and the University of Montreal on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30 respectively.
Likely fearing a loss of form over the break, the team traveled to these schools looking to keep standards high as they returned to the OUA season. The team won against the University of Sherbrooke and lost against the University of Montreal.
The exhibition games proved successful for the maroon and grey, as they picked up wins in their first two games back from break. McMaster faced Nipissing University, winning their first game with by a score of 3-2 sets and subsequently sweeping the Nipissing Lakers in their second matchup.
The Marauders men's team still has half of their season to play, with ten more games until they reach the OUA playoffs in hopes of claiming their twelfth OUA title.
The Marauders men's team still has half of their season to play, with ten more games until they reach the OUA playoffs.
McMaster will look to book their ticket to this year’s national championships, as they have before in the past year. The team will hope to reach new heights under Douwes' leadership after falling in the previous U Sports championships at the semifinals stage.
For those in the know, McMaster Volleyball has long been a force to be reckoned with. Over the years the program has sent players overseas to play in professional leagues such as the Polish PlusLiga, seen its graduates make Olympic appearances and taken down National Collegiate Athletic Association Division one teams. To those who didn’t already know all this, the Can Am Volleyball Holiday Showcase helped shed some light on McMaster’s success.
The Can Am Volleyball Holiday Showcase, which took place Dec. 28 to 31 2019, was a set of three matches that pit three of the top Canadian university volleyball programs against strong American foes.
Other than McMaster, two other Canadian universities at the Can Am tournament were the Trinity Western University Spartans and the University of Alberta Golden Bears. The three Canadian teams made their way to the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre to face off with the Long Beach State 49ers, the Lewis University Flyers and the University of California, Los Angeles Bruins.
McMaster is no stranger to the strength of Long Beach State’s volleyball program, having played them over four times in the past two years. McMaster has come out on top in two of the last three matchups. Unfortunately, they fell just short in this year’s match with a final score of three to two.
What it looks like when @MACMVB wins a thrilling 5 set victory over perennial national volleyball powerhouse @TrinityWestern Spartans! Congratulations to Coach @DavePreston1 and this gutsy Mac team! @mcmastersports #hamont pic.twitter.com/9mFweD4h44
— Terry Cooke (@TerryCookeHCF) January 4, 2020
Following the Can Am Showcase, McMaster moved forward with their second act of holiday break tournaments with a two day showdown against the west coast’s Canadian volleyball powerhouse, Trinity Western University, upsetting them in the first match with a thrilling kill to bring home the W in the fifth set. The Marauders also took home another win on the fourth, securing two straight wins against the Spartans. This success provided McMaster with the confidence to enter the continuation of the season with a brand new perspective.
Looking forward to the new year ahead, McMaster holds the top seed in the western conference of the Ontario University Athletics. They are preparing to face several opponents throughout the OUA.
First off will be Ryerson University on Jan. 17 and Trent university on Jan. 18. Ryerson, who is second seeded in the OUA’s eastern conference, will surely be a tough fight for the Marauders. However, if Mac continues to utilize the fast attack and strong offensive structure seen over the past few matches, we may see the Marauders to swoop in on the Rams.
The Trent University Excalibur coming to town will likely be a relief for the Marauders as the Excalibur is currently in last place, without any wins. Following this game, Mac will face more difficult interconference opponents such as the Brock University Badgers and the Guelph University Gryphons over the rest of the month.
McMaster is currently tied for first in all of the OUA with their Toronto-based rival, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. Looking to take the season away and start 2020 in the same fashion as the 2019 season, the men’s volleyball team could have the opportunity to end their season as number one.
We are looking to see another winning season, which will hopefully lead to another run for the national championship. McMaster volleyball’s winning tradition is in the midst to continue for another year in 2020.
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