HAMILTON, Ont. – The Marauders swiftly swept the Varsity Blues on Saturday night in the Burridge. McMaster has now beat Toronto twice this season, having previously faced the team in November where the Marauders won in five-sets (19-25, 25-21, 25-19, 15-25, 15-12).
Leading McMaster’s offense was led by outside hitter Maxime Gratton with 13 kills and a staggering performance of five aces. Following him was Brendan Mills, with 12 kills and a service ace. Robbie Fujisawa, the Marauders’ star setter, had 31 assists and eight digs. Libero Matthew Rugosi also put up eight digs for the home team. Notably, first year Jared Kuiken had three block assists and one solo block in the game.
McMaster found an early lead through a six-point run that with no response from the Varsity Blues. Kills early on came from Kuiken, Gratton, and Mills. Fujisawa and Brady Paterson came through with two back-to-back connections, resulting in two points for the Marauders. The Varsity Blues struggled to keep up and they struggled with their errors. Later in the set, a double block from Fujisawa and Kuiken lit up the crowd, giving McMaster the 18-11 lead. The home team was able to close out the set comfortably, 25-19.
The Varsity Blues were able to find a lead early in the second set, making it one of the few times in the game that they were up on the scoreboard. Mills ended a Toronto point streak with a kill, while Kuiken continued to have a strong game, making a service ace to close the gap to 8-9 for the away team. Mid-set, both teams struggled with their errors, but Kuiken kept his head in the game, winning a battle above the net to dump the ball onto Toronto’s court, as McMaster overturned the lead 23-20. Outside hitter Thomas Williams performed under pressure, bringing the Marauders their last two points of the set to win 25-21.
The third set was Toronto’s last chance to stay alive, but they continued to struggle with their defense and service returns. The dynamic duo Gratton and Mills bombarded the Varsity Blues early on and carried this through the set. Mills managed to put away four kills and one ace in the last set, while Gratton put up three kills and four aces. Two of Gratton’s aces came late in the set, making back-to-back unreturnable serves to Toronto. The Varsity Blues started to find their groove late this set, making a five-point run and forcing a McMaster timeout, but it was too late. The Marauders topped the Varsity Blues 25-18 in the final set.
Up Next
The Marauders will look forward to travelling to Kingston, Ont., to battle it out against the Queens Gaels next weekend.
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