HAMILTON, Ont. – The Marauders swept the Nipissing Lakers confidently in three sets on Saturday night for their OUA quarterfinal game. McMaster finished their season ranked first in the OUA, holding a record of 16-4 in the regular season, and that showed in their game play tonight.
Leading McMaster’s offense was Maxime Gratton, with 11 kills, four service aces, and one solo block. This comes as no surprise, as Gratton ranked second in the OUA regular season for hitting percentage (0.365) and service aces per set (0.54). Alongside his teammate was Brendan Mills, who made 13 kills and one service ace. Mills ranked second in the OUA regular season in kills per set (3.85) and has continuously proved to be a dominant offensive force for McMaster. First year Brady Paterson also had a great game, with 13 kills and two service aces, setting a new personal record of 15 points in one game. Supporting in his usual consisent manner was setter Robbie Fujisawa, with 35 assists and five digs.
The first set of the OUA quarterfinal had the teams exchanging points back and forth. The Marauders managed to find a small lead early in the set but were still within the Laker’s reach. McMaster found momentum late in the set, earning four consecutive points. This included a kill landed by setter Fujisawa, which lit up the home bench. First year Paterson found the last two kills for McMaster, as they won the set 25-19.
The Lakers were determined to keep the score close in the second set, tying the score up to 10-10. Gratton was solid on his defense, making a huge dig to keep the play alive and ultimately get McMaster a point with a kill from Mills. Third year Mills followed up with a powerful serve, grazing one of the Nipissing players to find the ace. Despite this, the Lakers held onto a small 12-9 lead. The Marauders showed grit and resilience, turning the score around late in the set when it mattered most. A kill assisted by Fujisawa to Paterson closed out the set two score, 25-21, as McMaster found a two-set lead.
After finding the win in the first two sets, the Marauders were adamant to find the early lead in the third. Gratton made back-to-back service aces, helping McMaster find an early 5-2 lead. The Lakers were determined and capitalized on McMaster’s errors, tying the score back up at the 11th point. Three consecutive McMaster errors forced head coach Brad Douwes to call the first timeout for the home bench. Coming back from the break, the Lakers began to struggle with their errors, allowing the Marauders to find a 21-15 lead. In the last moments of the game, Nipissing fought back, closing the McMaster lead to two, but Gratton came flying through to earn the last two points of the game for the home team, 25-21.
Up Next
The Marauders will now look forward to facing off against the Guelph Gryphons next Friday at 7pm for their OUA Semifinal game. McMaster will host in the Burridge, as they hold the higher seed, and will hope to extend their current six game win streak throughout their playoff run.
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