HAMILTON, Ont. – The Marauders women’s volleyball team start their playoff campaign this upcoming Saturday night as they host the York Lions at Burridge Gymnasium.
OUA Quarterfinals
McMaster vs York
Burridge Gymnasium | Hamilton, Ont.
February 25th, 2023 @ 6PM
As the fourth seed in the OUA, the Marauders have earning hosting rights for the quarter-final match that is taking place at 6pm on Saturday. McMaster went 14-6, racking up 28 points, led by Head Coach, Tim Louks.
The Maroon and Grey started the regular season with a four game win streak, beating Lakehead, Western and York. McMaster then fell to TMU and Brock, but finished out the 2022 OUA season with four wins against Nipissing and Queens.
The Marauder women started the 2023 season with three wins in a row against Brock, U of T and York. The Marauders then fell to Waterloo in their first matchup, but then beat RMC in back-to-back games. McMaster fell to Western but came back strong to beat Waterloo in their second match-up. In a tough end to the regular season, the Marauders fell to both the TMU Bold and U of T in the last weekend of OUA regular season.
After losing in a tight 5 set match in the OUA Quarter-finals last season, the McMaster women’s volleyball team has something to prove and looks poised to make a deep playoff run this year.
Leading the charge offensively for the Maroon and Grey has been outside hitter Sullie Sundara (Kanata, Ont.). Sundara is ranked first in the OUA for kills, recording 295, and second for kills per set, averaging 3.99 kills per set. Sundara also ranked third for total attacks (751), and fifth for service aces (27). The second year also leads the OUA for total points, recording 347.0 over the regular season.
Defensively, libero Hayley Brookes (Burlington, Ont.) held things steady, recording 482 receptions, ranking her first in the OUA. Brookes also posted 289 digs, averaging 3.66 digs per set. Also producing defensively is middle Ana Strbac (Oakville, Ont.) who posted 18 solo blocks this season.
York sits just below the Marauders, tied in the fifth spot with Queen’s, recording 24 points. The Lions went 12-8 in the regular season. In the 2021-22 post-season, the Lions lost in the OUA Quarterfinals to Queen’s in three sets (22-25, 16-25, 19-25). After finishing the OUA regular season on a five game win streak, the Lions are looking strong as they enter the playoffs.
Leaders on the team include Christina Piccinin, a fifth year outside hitter, ranked third for her hitting percentage of 0.328. Defensively, Piccinin recorded 20 solo blocks, ranking her seventh. Also on the defense, Amarai Endes posted 27 solo blocks, and 44 block assists, ranking her first in the OUA for total blocks (70). Endes averages 1.00 blocks per set. Setter Chiara Da Silva recorded 467 assists, to average 7.64 assists per set, ranking her fifth in the OUA.
The winner of Saturday’s match-up will go on to play in the OUA semifinals, which is slated to take place Sat. March 4th, with the Quigley Cup final scheduled for Sat. March 11th.