Box Score The casual fan would hardly have recognized the Marauder team that took court on Sunday, as five regular starters were absent from the contingent that has built McMaster into the top team in the nation.

But that mattered little on the afternoon, as a young Marauder group comfortably swept aside the Guelph Gryphons to extend their team's unbeaten OUA record to 14-0. Set scores were 25-22, 25-15 and 25-21 for McMaster, who were without middles Alex Elliott and Danny Demyanenko, and regular outsides Andrew Richards, Stephen Maar and Jayson McCarthy.

In their place, rookie Craig Ireland led all scorers in the win, with 12.5 points including 11 kills on 18 attempts versus three errors (.444) and an ace. Fellow rookie Connor Santoni also hit double digits in the point column, with 10.5 including seven kills, three aces and a block assist.

A bright start propelled Mac into an early lead in the first set, with Ireland coming unblocked on the left and smashing a heavy kill that drew a boisterous reaction from the McMaster bench at 12-6. That lead remained steady as the teams barrelled toward the finish line, and after a Guelph service error brought up set points at 24-20, another such mistake ended the set three points later.

The hosts started strongly yet again in set two, and forced an early timeout from the Gryphons at 8-3 when rookie outside Matt Passalent found a corner with a well-hit ace. Boasting a six-point lead at the technical timeout, McMaster remained firmly in control throughout the set, and brought up set points by digging around the antenna and drawing a flubbed dig from the shocked Gryphons for 24-15. A point later, the set was over, as Ireland dunked an inviting overpass for an easy kill.

The quality of play dropped early in the third, as both teams struggled to find any rhythm, and a missed Marauder serve tied things at 11. Neck-and-neck through the midway point, McMaster finally gained separation in the late stages of the set, and had match points at 24-21 after a Guelph pipe ball sailed long. Passalent brought the match to a close on the next point, packing the Gryphons libero with a final kill.