Box Score A day after their starters led the Marauders to a sweep of the defending national champions, it was the turn of McMaster's bench to do the same to their opposite numbers on Friday.
Playing in the second game of a three-match series, McMaster and Alberta each fielded reserves throughout the three-set encounter, with the Marauders coming out on top 25-17, 27-25 and 25-23.
Andrew Richards — who saw spot action in last night's strength-on-strength match — was McMaster's go-to attacking option on the outside, with Connor Santoni and rookie Matt Passalent each contributing on the wing as well.
McMaster built a healthy lead in the opening set with the help of an extended run at the service line from middle Peter Khodkevych, and raced out to a set point after Connor Santoni ended a long rally with a kill down the line for 24-16. Two points later, the hosts sealed the set when Alberta's David Ponich attempted a cut shot that kissed the tape and landed wide.
Hardly deterred after the lopsided opener, the Bears held the Marauders to side-out volleyball early in the second set, with McMaster holding a slim 16-14 lead at the technical timeout. Alberta came roaring out the break, and were just two points from the finish line at 23-20, after Carter MacIntyre squeezed a shot through a double block and forced a McMaster timeout.
The break did its job for the Marauders, who returned to win seven of the next nine points and steal the set from the Bears in extra points. Andrew Richards brought up set point by polishing off an overpass, before pounding a cross-court shot that eluded the Alberta defender in the back court for 27-25.
Closely-contested volleyball reigned once again in the third and final set, with the two teams playing side-out well past the technical timeout. Alberta looked like forcing a fourth set when Aaron Chambers blocked Richards down the middle for 22-20, but McMaster had other plans. A Passalent ace levelled the score at 22, and two points later, Santoni produced his most emotional point yet to bring up match point. Celebrations were put on hold for a point, before MacIntyre sailed a serve wide to make McMaster's second consecutive sweep a reality.
The two teams conclude their series Saturday night at the Burridge Gym, with the game slated to get underway at 7:00 p.m. Can't make it to the gym? All of the action will be broadcast live on OUA.tv.
