Two of the country's best volleyball teams brought a fitting end to their non-conference series on Saturday, as the Marauders and Golden Bears battled through an absorbing, five-set encounter at the Burridge Gym. Strength on strength, starters on starters, the Marauders raced out to a 2-0 lead, before Alberta clawed back to win a dramatic fifth set 19-17 and salvage a match in the three-game series.

Making his first appearance in the series on Saturday, Alberta outside Ryan Nickifor was the game's leading scorer, with a total of 20.5 points that included 18 kills and two aces. The Bears balanced attack saw three other players enter double digits, as Ryley Barnes had 16.5 points while Taylor Arnett and Alex McMullin added 14.5 and 13 respectively.

Veteran outside Stephen Maar was the standout for the Marauders in a losing effort, posting 18.5 points on 15 of 31 hitting and three and a half blocks. The towering opposite Jayson McCarthy also enjoyed a strong match with 16.5 points, while Brandon Koppers matched Maar's kill total with 15.

McMaster seemed well in control of Saturday's match after taking the first two sets 25-20 and 25-18, but a crucial service run by Brett Walsh busted the third set wide open in the Bears favour as they looked to stave off elimination. The Alberta setter controlled the service line for eight points as his team built a 9-0 lead, and McMaster would be unable to climb out of that considerable hole. With the Marauders looking dispirited, Bears middle John Goranson notched a floated ace to bring up set point, before Brandon Koppers dumped an attack into the net to get Alberta on the board.

The teams battened down the hatches to begin the fourth, playing side-out volleyball before a highlight reel play struck at 8-8. After a series of restarts on the Alberta side, Pawel Jedrzejewski made two giant retrievals on the McMaster side before Maar polished off the point down the line to send the Burridge Gym into hysterics.
 

It was the sort of point that could swing a match, but Alberta did well to settle back into the set and stay in touch with McMaster. The Marauders took a slim 16-15 lead at the technical timeout, and maintained it into the late stages, until the Bears reeled off run of five points in six to steal the set from under them.

McMaster regrouped as the fifth and deciding set began, winning five of the first seven points to force a timeout from the visitors. When Ryley Barnes missed a ball through the pipe, the Marauders switched ends with a sizeable 8-3 lead, but the Bears began steadily chipping away. When McMaster failed to retrieve a wild dig, Alberta drew level at 12-all, and the teams barrelled toward the finish line neck-and-neck. Several match points came and went for a suddenly wasteful McMaster team, before Koppers fell into a double block to end proceedings.