Box Score His roster has been put through the blender in the weeks succeeding the holiday break, but no matter its appearance, Dave Preston's McMaster continues to win.
Mac's ensemble cast came together yet again on Saturday to post its 16th consecutive victory and continue its perfect OUA season, this time at the expense of the Western Mustangs in the dangerous confines of Alumni Hall.
Ceding the third set to the hosts, the top-ranked team in the country came away with a four-set victory in London (25-22, 25-17, 21-25, 25-19) to sweep the season series.
A day after a cameo appearance in Windsor, the reigning OUA MVP, Danny Demyanenko shone in a fuller showing Saturday, hitting for 71 per cent and adding three aces and four and a half blocks for 17.5 points. Stephen Maar shouldered the burden of a team high 41 hitting attempts, scoring 19 points, while Jayson McCarthy also touched double digits with 12.
Western gave an early indication of their resolve in a hard-fought first set, and were within a point of McMaster at 21-20 after a McCarthy service error. But that mistake was answered in kind, and the Marauders notched two more points in quick succession to bring up four set points, sealing it with a Demyanenko kill on the third attempt.
A five-point run with the veteran middle toeing the service line gave Mac an early lead in the second set, and that built into the technical timeout, where Andrew Kocur dumped to prompt the break. Western pulled within three points at 18-15, before Mac answered by scoring seven of the next nine points, winning the set on another kill from Demyanenko.
Unwilling to limp away in straight sets, the Mustangs forced a see-saw battle in the third, wrenching the lead back at the technical timeout when Bryn Ramsay killed for 16-15. They would not relinquish that foothold, and took the set on a double block by Chris Newcombe and Ramsay.
Asked to regroup in the fourth, the Marauders did just that, taking a 7-3 lead after a Ramsay error. Despite something of a Western fightback before the technical timeout, Mac held a five-point advantage at the break and shrugged off another comeback attempt before Demyanenko knocked down his third set-winning point of the match with an ace to end the night in emphatic fashion.
