St. Catharines, Ont. — The McMaster Marauders (3-5) faced the Brock Badgers (3-5) in a double header this weekend.
The Marauders finished the weekend 1-1 versus Brock.
The Friday game started with a huge early kill by Robbie Fujisawa (North York, Ont.) and the hitting continued throughout the first set. Later, some strong defense from the Marauders kept the play alive and Fujisawa finished it off with a kill, forcing a Badgers timeout. Maxime Gratton (Ottawa, Ont.) would add to his kill count late in the set but Brock was able to hold McMaster off to win the set 25-22.
It was another tight race in set two. Early on, a kill from Gratton tied the set at five. Back and forth action continued with the Marauders defense also making a stand as a block by Seth O’Brien (Kingston, Ont.) and Jack Mackley (Toronto, Ont.) tied it up again at 16. Grayson Jarrett (Camrose, Alta.) hit a cross court kill and then followed it up with a block on the next play. The ball would just fall over the net on Badger’s set point, giving Brock the 25-22 win over the Marauders in set two.
Jared Kuiken (London, Ont.) started off the third set strong with a kill and double block alongside Jarrett. Midway through, Haben Yohannes (Scarborough, Ont.) made a huge kill to get back within one. A service ace from Kaden Zunti (Burlington, Ont.) gave McMaster the lead mid way through. Later, a Gratton kill tied the set at 23 then a kill from Jarrett gave McMaster the late lead. Gratton extended the match with a service ace to win set three 26-24.
The Marauders got on a roll early in the fourth set with numerous kills and two service aces from Yohannes. After a 6-0 run, the Marauders forced a Badger timeout. Offense continued to roll later in the set and then a service ace from Gratton helped the Marauders force a fifth set, winning set four 25-17.
It was a neck and neck battle in the final set. Later in the set, back to back blocks lead to a McMaster match point. The final set went to extra points and Gratton finished off the astonishing comeback with two kills. The Marauders won the final set 20-18, beating the Badgers 3-2.
On Saturday they would meet again. Kuiken started McMaster off strong with a service ace in set one. Later in the set O’Brien would also add a service ace to keep the score close but Brock would win set one 25-20.
Set two stayed close early on. Yohannes and Gratton came up with a big block to put the Marauders ahead by one mid way through. McMaster was able to tie the game at 23 thanks to a strong kill followed by service ace from Jarrett which forced a Brock timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Badgers were able to hold on to win set two 25-23.
Fujisawa got the first points of the set for McMaster with a kill. Near the end of the set Yohannes and Zunti came up with a big block but Brock would take the last few points to win the set 25-16, and sweep the Marauders 3-0.
Next Up: Cheer your Marauder on at Burridge Gymnasium in the new year when they face the Windsor Lancers on January 10th and 11th.