Volleyball will be front and centre this weekend when McMaster celebrates Marauder Weekend with a full slate of games at the Burridge Gym. Both nationally-ranked teams are in competition, but the weekend will be especially important for the Marauder women.

The no. 6 seed in the country, McMaster faces two matches against top-quality opposition and with less than 24 hours of rest between them. Sitting third in the stacked OUA East division, the Ottawa Gee-Gees arrive at the Burridge Gym on Saturday night in the midst of a rebuilding year, but still dangerous as ever.

Leading the Gee-Gees is veteran middle Alix Durivage, whose battles with opposite numbers Maicee Sorensen and Taylor Brisebois could be a deciding factor in Saturday's match. Durivage tops Ottawa with 89 total kills and a hitting average of .343 that ranks fourth in the OUA. Rounding out the Gee-Gees offence is a group of young outside hitters that should form Ottawa's backbone in the future, including rookies Kara Hayes and Tatiana Kozbenko, and sophomores Caroline Lemay and Logan Potter.

Kira Tome is the reliable setter at the centre of that offence, who sits among the league-leaders in assists per set (8.54 - sixth) and total assists (299 - fifth).

McMaster will look to leverage experience on the outside, through the likes of Joanna Jedrzejewska and Lauren Mastroluisi, and their superior blocking prowess in the middle, as they look for their 10th victory of the season.

They will have little time to dwell on Saturday's result, whatever it should be, as they return to play the back half of Sunday's doubleheader against the Guelph Gryphons. A traditional powerhouse in the OUA West, the Gryphons have taken something of a step back through the first half of the 2015-16 season, sitting fourth with a record of 6-5. But the veteran-laden lineup dealt McMaster their only defeat of the season in Guelph, and the Marauders will be wary of their challenge on Sunday.

Backed by one of the OUA's premier liberos in Kristen Almhjell, Guelph features a well-rounded offence and respectable block headlined by middle Nicole Collard, who ranks fourth in the conference with 34 total blocks. Unsurprisingly, fifth-year power hitter Becky Breau has enjoyed a strong offensive season to date, with total kills and kills per set rates that sit inside the top ten in the OUA. Opposite her is former OUA West Rookie of the Year Maddie Dedecker, with strikingly similar numbers, as well as emerging sophomore Jessica Gormley.

Whether the Marauders can match the Gryphons depth of options will go a long way in deciding the outcome on Sunday, as McMaster goes looking for revenge.

Not to be forgotten in the jam-packed weekend, the CIS no. 1-ranked Marauder men welcome the Gryphons to the Burridge Gym on Sunday after visiting them in Guelph a week ago. That match proved difficult for the under-strength Marauders, who battled through three tight sets to maintain their perfect conference record.

They will have to contend with Guelph outside Josh Green once again, who excelled against the Marauders a week ago, posting 13 kills and hitting at a 38 per cent clip in a losing effort. Veteran power hitting Luke Woud should also feature prominently in the Gryphons offence on Sunday, with Kyle Richards -- the brother of Marauder outside Andrew -- occupying the setter's role.

McMaster will be without middle Alex Elliott yet again due to injury, and the status of fellow middle Danny Demyanenko remains up in the air. In their stead, the imposing outside duo of Stephen Maar -- who stands as the top hitter in the OUA -- and Jayson McCarthy will undoubtedly be called upon frequently on Sunday.

You can see all of the action this weekend live on OUA.tv, and Sunday's doubleheader on Cogeco Cable 14 in Hamilton.