The Marauders have unfinished business, and a familiar rival is the first obstacle in their path to complete it.
McMaster has its sights set on the highest prize in the land, as the CIS no. 2-ranked Marauders open their OUA season tonight against the Western Mustangs — the team that consigned McMaster to a bronze-medal at last year's national tournament.
Revenge may be on the Marauders minds, but the Mustang group they encounter tonight is far different from the one they met in Calgary in March.
Western suffered a mass exodus of talent due to graduation, and will be without their starting setter and three of their four leading hitters from a year ago. That group includes OUA all-star Phil James, one-time OUA Player of the Year Garrett May and middle Luke Sim. Sean McKay — the aforementioned setter — has moved from the centre of the action to the sidelines, where he'll serve as an assistant to coach Jim Sage this season.
What remains of the Mustangs is an exceptionally young group with just two seniors to its name, and a bumper crop of nine rookies. Among those is one that may be familiar to Marauder fans: Jake MacNeil. The first-year outside hitter is the longtime partner of Marauder rookie Andrew Richards on the sand, where the two represented Canada at the Youth Olympics in Nanjing this past summer, advancing to the final 16.
MacNeil is undoubtedly part of a generational change at Western, but while the new faces acclimatize themselves to the OUA, remaining veterans like outsides Doug Austrom and Derek Kuiack, and middle Mike Choja, will bear much of the burden of making the Mustangs tick.
In truth, it's a roster that seems pointed toward the future, but McMaster will hardly take Western lightly given the teams' history.
Injuries will also do their part to keep the Marauders humble, as the team's roster was restricted before a single competitive ball has been hit.
Richards will spend an extended period on the shelf, after a jam-packed period of high-level volleyball in the spring and summer that took its physical toll. Middle Alex Elliott is also in the midst of rehab, and will watch tonight's tilt from the bench. Elliott's absence shines the spotlight squarely on Danny Demyanenko, the lone middle remaining in McMaster's lineup with OUA experience to his name.
But McMaster still boasts the deepest wings in the province, and Demyanenko is no stranger to going it alone through the middle.
The match gets underway at 8:00 p.m. in the Burridge Gym. As usual, admission is free to any student wearing maroon who presents their student card. Pay with your pride and enjoy a night of Marauder volleyball.
If you can't make it to the gym, you can catch the match streaming live via OUA.TV. The broadcast tandem of Alex Pocrnick and Fraser Caldwell have the call.
