The McMaster Marauders comfortably swept the Trent Excalibur in three sets on Friday night for their home opener. The energy in Burridge was filled with anticipation for the Marauders’ first game of the season, and the team did not disappoint.
The Marauders demonstrated impressive consistency and versatility in their first game of the season, sweeping the Excalibur in three sets. Outside hitter Mateusz Wlodarski (Ottawa, Ont.) led the team in points, racking up 9.5 in the game. Wlodarski, alongside Maxime Gratton (Ottawa, Ont.) and Thomas Williams (Oakville, Ont.), led the Marauders in kills, each posting six. Setter Robbie Fujisawa (North York, Ont.) supported the team with 16 assists in the game, while Jason Wildeboer (Bowmanville, Ont.) made strong contributions with seven assists.
The team looked comfortable on their home court as they won the first set 25-10. Gratton led the Marauders with four kills in the first set, showing a powerful opening performance. Their versatility didn’t go unnoticed as the entire starting line came out of the first set having contributed at least one point. Taking advantage of Trent’s 10 attack errors, the men in maroon also showed their strength on defense with 18 digs.
In the second set, McMaster opened strong by scoring four unanswered points before Trent was able to pick up their first. The team maintained a minimum four-point lead throughout the set while Trent struggled to land kills against the Marauders. Brendan Mills (London, Ont.) subbed in during the second set and made his presence known with three kills, leading the Marauders in kills alongside Tyler Pavelic (Guelph, Ont.). Wlodarski closed off the set with a big kill, pleasing the home crowd and closing out the set 25-11.
The third set began with an impressive show of athleticism from Haben Yohannes (Toronto, Ont.) as the 6’7″ middle hitter saved a ball with a pancake. The Marauders continued with consistency as they led 10-3 and forced Trent to call a time out. Coming back from the break in play, the crowd was thrilled with an impressive block by 6’0″ setter Fujisawa. The Marauders were on fire as Pavelic made back-to-back service aces, leading the score to 16-5. Trent continued to struggle with their service errors late in the game and ended the match 25-11.
Next Up:
Looking ahead, the Marauders look to continue playing strong in their opening weekend as they rematch the Trent Excalibur on Saturday, Nov. 4th at 8pm at home. The Marauders set their win streak to one and hope to carry it through the weekend.
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