McMaster men’s volleyball makes 2023 OUA debut this weekend

HAMILTON, Ont. – Returning to the court last week for two contests with the Long Beach State University Beach, 3x NCAA National Champions, the Marauders men’s volleyball team will prepare for its first OUA competition of the new calendar year. Both contests will be road games this weekend with the #2 Marauders first heading to St. Catharines for a Friday match-up with the Brock Badgers followed by a trip to Toronto to face off with the #6 Varsity Blues on Sunday afternoon.
 

 
The Marauders and Badgers met once over the fall semester with McMaster earning a 3-0 sweep. The two squads have met 12 times since 2016 and, over that time, the Marauders have won each and every one of those contests. Brock has had a challenging start to the season, sitting at 2-7 in the OUA standings in 10th spot in the conference, with the last win coming in late November. Despite the record, the Badgers have one 3-1 victory against the Windsor Lancers under their belt and will look to earn the upset this weekend.

With the division split last season, McMaster and Toronto last matched-up in an OUA competition on November 16, 2019 in Hamilton. Since then, the Marauders and Varsity Blues met twice during the 2022-23 pre-season, with each team earning a win. The maroon and grey own the series 19-2 and have won nine of the last ten match-ups. The Varsity Blues sit in second spot in the OUA conference standings, just one back of the Marauders. Toronto’s lone blemish this season – a 3-0 loss to the Queen’s Gaels – came in the first week of the 2022-23 campaign but since then, the Varsity Blues have been perfect.

The McMaster Marauders will look to continue the fall’s momentum into the second half of the OUA season. The #2 nationally-ranked Marauders sit at a perfect 10-0 in the conference standings but with ten games still remaining in the 2022-23 regular season, – the maroon and grey will look to continue its winning ways. 
 

Last Time Out

Prior to the December break, the Marauders faced the Gaels in two contests at Burridge Gymnasium. In the first match-up, the Marauders swept the Gaels in three sets. Leading the attack for the Marauders was Maxime Gratton (Ottawa, Ont.) with nine kills and one service ace. Outside hitter Wojciech Kraj (Gliwice, Poland) also had an impressive offensive game with eight kills. In the rematch, five sets were needed but McMaster, once again, came out on top. On offense, Maxime Gratton (Ottawa, Ont.) and Peter Rugosi (Toronto, Ont.) led the team in kills with 12 each, making it an incredible career high game for Rugosi. Setter Robbie Fujisawa (North York, Ont.) supported the team on offense with 39 assists and 12 digs. Meanwhile, leading on defense was Matthew Rugosi (Etobicoke, Ont.) with 13 digs.
 

Players to Watch

Brock Badgers
 
#3 Grant Reddon, 3rd Year (Elig.), Setter

• Ranks fifth in the OUA in assists (274)
• Averages 8.56 assists per set (6th in the OUA)
• Recorded 63 digs in nine matches

#12 Kylar Code, 2nd Year (Elig.), Outside Hitter

• Ranks fourth in the OUA with 17 service aces
• Averages 2.72 kills per set
• Recorded 237 total attacks in the first half of the season

McMaster Marauders
 
#3 Matthew Rugosi, 2nd Year (Elig.), Libero

• Recorded 67 digs through ten games this season
• Ranks 4th in the conference in digs per set (2.03)
• Has two attacks through ten games

#10 Tyler Pavelic, 4th Year (Elig.), Middle Blocker

• Leads the Marauders in total blocks (30)
• Ranks first in the OUA in block assists with 22
• Has 13 service aces this season

Toronto Varsity Blues
 
#7 Evan Falardeau, 4th Year (Elig.), Outside Hitter

• OUA leader in total attacks with 380
• Ranks 1st in the conference in kills (176) and kills per set (4.51)
• Recorded 202.5 points in the first half of the season

#11 Daniel Tudor, 5th Year (Elig.), Libero

• Leads the conference in total digs (92)
• OUA leader in digs per set (2.36)
• Recorded three attacks through 10 games

Friday’s Game Coverage

Watch Live: https://oua.yaretv.com/

Twitter: @McMasterSports

Instagram: @mcmastermvb

Sunday’s Game Coverage

Watch Live: https://oua.yaretv.com/

Twitter: @McMasterSports

Instagram: @mcmastermvb
 

For the latest news and updates on the McMaster Marauders, follow @mcmastersports on social media or visit www.marauders.ca.