Women's volleyball hits road block

Tobi Abdul

Staff Reporter

The McMaster women’s volleyball team has seen a very inconsistent season so far and have had difficulty maintaining a winning streak.

This pattern continued this past weekend as the Marauders added both a win and a loss to their record.

Despite only winning one of two games, McMaster played some of their cleanest volleyball thus far in the season.

McMaster travelled to North Bay to take on the Nipissing Lakers Nov. 22, winning the match 3-1. After the win on Friday, McMaster saw a jump in their record, temporarily however, as they succumbed 3-0 to the number one York Lions in a match they knew would be tough.

“To be among the best, you must behave like the best,” said head coach Tim Louks.

Marauders proved that they could behave like the best in the match against Nipissing.

They played a strong game and achieved cohesiveness on the court that McMaster had been working on all season.

The team started extremely strong in the first set, overpowering the Lakers offensively and playing very precise volleyball.

The Marauders dominated all set with a set total of two errors and 11 kills while Nipissing had ten errors and nine kills. This accuracy led to a win margin of 10 points as McMaster taking the set 25-15.

McMaster continued to play strong offense, but were a little weaker than they had been in the first set and Nipissing was trailing close behind.

The Lakers managed to slide ahead at the technical timeout leading 16-14.

McMaster came out of the timeout looking like a new team and outscoring Nipissing 11-2 and winning the set 25-18.

McMaster took the early lead of the third set but was unable to hold on to it as Nipissing slid ahead to a 16-14 at the technical timeout.

Playing their best set of the match, Nipissing continued to take the lead and McMaster was unable to catch up.

Long point streaks would allow Nipissing to increase their margin to 21-15 and despite the Marauders outscoring Nipissing 5-4, the Lakers eventually took the set 25-20.

A lack of momentum has been a constant issue facing the Marauders all season.

“To keep momentum through the match, I think we need to continue finding ways to keep each other engaged as well as recognize opportunities where we can gain a string of points and stop our opponents from getting on a scoring run,” said setter Kayla Ng.

The Marauders gained their momentum back in the fourth set and it was McMaster’s best performance as they managed a kill percentage of 33 per cent with three errors and 12 kills.

McMaster played an impressive eight-point streak bringing them to 16-9 at the technical timeout.

The Lakers would only get 4 more points in the match as McMaster took the set 25-13 and the match 3-1.

The Marauders were playing extremely well as a team and each player was playing a great offensive game.

Six players had a kill percentage of over 30 per cent but the two standouts were outside hitter Lauren Mastroluisi with 16 digs, 18 points, and 14 kills and middle Taylor Brisebois with 12 points, nine hits, and a kill percentage of 37.5 per cent.

The team’s success largely came from their ability to work as a team and make good use of their setter, Kayla Ng, to make the connection from accurate pass to the perfect kill.

“To ensure cohesiveness, everyone needs to know what’s going on in the game. I try to stay level-headed and calm after every point, regardless of the outcome, to keep the team focused in the right direction,” said Ng.

Ng had a total of 23 assists in the game, after being inserted halfway through the second set.

As a grad student, Ng has had experience playing with different teams and this experience is an asset on the court.

“I’ve had the opportunity to play with a wide variety of players, adjust to various playing styles and fulfill different roles on the team as needed,” said Ng.

“We as a team need a shared vision and common goals anchored by a continuous, consistent, and authentic communication of information,” said Louks.

The vision is making the playoffs, a goal that McMaster is working towards through daily practice and learning from each game and fixing their mistakes.

“We’re focusing on performing well in each game and with each good performance, we’ll be one step closer to finishing first in the west,” said Ng.

Finishing first may be the ultimate goal but it is not the end all according to Coach Louks.

“Standings don’t make all the difference but they must factor into the equation. You must take care of the elements to success and the wins will come. Playing with a sense of urgency regardless of opposition is a learned trait,” said Louks.

McMaster will attempt to enter the holiday season with a win as they take on the Waterloo Warriors at Burridge Gym Nov. 29 in the last game of 2013.