HAMILTON, Ont. — The McMaster Marauders took on their cross-border rivals, the Ohio State Buckeyes, in a double header over the weekend. The Marauders welcomed the Buckeyes to Burridge Gymnasium in Hamilton, Ont. as the teams split the weekend series.
On Saturday, McMaster gave the visiting team a cold welcome in the first set. Jared Kuiken (London, Ont.) would get McMaster going with a service ace early in the set. The Marauders found themselves down by three early, but Francois Albert (Ottawa, Ont.) kept the score close with a massive kill along with some outstanding defense from Matthew Rugosi (Toronto, Ont.).
The Marauders tied the score at 10 and after more back and forth action, the Marauders tied it up again at 18 with a service ace from Albert. Coming out of a timeout, Grayson Jarrett (Camrose, Alta.) added a kill to tie it up again at 19. The set would finish with another kill by Jarrett to put the Marauders up 23–22, and to end the set, Kuiken and Albert would form a wall at the net to win set one, 25-23.
Set two proved to be another close battle. Albert recorded another huge kill to keep the Marauders within two early on. Then, Albert added another strategically placed tip to put the Marauder up 12-11. Ohio would go on a roll late in the set to win 25-19.
The first point of set three for McMaster came off a huge block by Haben Yohannes (Scarborough, Ont.). Later in the set, a long rally ended with a massive block from Maxime Gratton (Ottawa, Ont.) and shortly after he would add a kill to put McMaster within striking distance. Unfortunately, Ohio would continue the pressure to win the third set 25-12.
McMaster would battle it out for the final set of the game, keeping the score tight with back-to-back blocks by Ashton Fox-Kristensen (Elora, Ont.). Gratton then tied the set at ten with a block that fell at the feet of the visitors. Albert added another service ace to put McMaster in the lead mid-way through the set, but the Buckeyes would continue the push late in the set to win it 25-20. The Marauders would lose the match 3-1 with a chance at redemption on Sunday.
During match two on Sunday afternoon, the Marauders brought a determined effort from start-to-finish. Set one was even early on as both teams tied at six. The Buckeyes added a point before McMaster furiously earned six straight points highlighted by a Jarrett kill.
McMaster kept the Buckeyes attack at bay and took a 17-12 lead. The Marauders continued their control of the set as Albert and Kuiken each hammer home kills, 20-12 Marauders. Two kills by Jarrett and a few miscues by the Buckeyes earned McMaster the set, 25-15.
Set two was dominated by the Marauders again. A Gratton kill that was assisted by Albert proved to be a big play early in the set. Robbie Fujiwasa had a huge impact on the set earning including four kills and two assists. Fujiwasa’s monster set was highlighted by his set-winning kill that earned McMaster the 25-14 win.
Set three started with a 3-1 lead for Ohio State. The lead was short lived as McMaster earned six straight points including two kills from Gratton, 7-3 McMaster. Each team would trade points with McMaster holding on to their comfortable lead. Gratton added another kill and McMaster closed out the weekend series with a 25-19 win.
Next up, the Marauders take on the Varsity Blues in Toronto to open up their 2024-2025 season on Friday, October 25.