The Marauders defeated the Bold in the OUA quarterfinals on Saturday night in the Burridge. After the game, head coach Dave Preston said, “at this stage, it’s survive and move on, and that’s exactly what we did today.”
Leading the Marauders’ offense was Brendan Mills (London, Ont.) with 20 kills and a service ace, while Sam Cooper (Hamilton, Ont.) made 16 kills. Supporting the offense was setter Robbie Fujisawa (North York, Ont.) with 47 assists, 11 digs and one solo block. Alongside them was Tyler Pavelic (Guelph, Ont.) with nine kills and one service ace.
The Marauders took the early lead in the first set, with Mills coming out strong with huge kills and a service ace. TMU took a timeout early on after a service ace from Cooper, as they attempted to slow the McMaster momentum. The Marauders were on a roll, with Mills making four kills, as they distanced themselves on the scoreboard. The Bold defense struggled to control McMaster’s offense, as the home team continued to steal away with the lead. The Marauders were able to close out the set comfortably 25-15.
The second set started out as a close match, as the Bold began to find their momentum on the McMaster court. The Marauders were able to tie the game back up at 8-8, as the teams continued to tie until 17-17. Mills led McMaster in kills with seven, while Fujisawa supported with 14 assists. The Marauders were able to find a small lead late in the set, but TMU kept the score within one or two points. McMaster reached set point first, but the Bold fought back to tie at the 24th point and force a McMaster timeout. The teams continued to battle but ultimately TMU came out on top, with a score of 28-26.
TMU took the early lead in the third set, but the Marauders tied it up quickly at the third point after a huge solo block from Mills. McMaster found themselves a lead, with five kills in the set coming from Cooper. The Bold fought hard to keep the play alive on defense but couldn’t respond to the huge offense the Marauders were presenting. Late in the set, the Marauders had a six-point streak, which included three serves by Wlodarski that the Bold could not return, as the Marauders approached set point. McMaster was able to finish the set comfortably with a score of 25-14.
The fourth set started out similarly to the second, with both teams exchanging points back and forth. TMU was fighting to stay alive, with this set holding the potential to end their playoff season. The Bold brought out a newfound offense, challenging the Marauders until a score of 18-18. McMaster was able to take the lead on their home court, ultimately finishing the game 25-20.
When asked about the impact of playing on their home court, Pavelic said, “We had a very big crowd tonight and just building off their energy; their energy gives us energy, and when we make big plays and the crowd erupts, it just fires us up to keep going.” Outside hitter Cooper returned to this game after being out due to injury for most of the second half of the season, and regarding today’s game, he said, “it’s just so cool to be back and hopefully I carried that energy onto the floor”.
Up Next
The Marauders will now look forward to facing off against the Lions in Burridge next Saturday at 8pm for the OUA semifinals.
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