Box Score Their roster remained in the blender on Thursday night, but the Marauders didn't let that stop them from clinching top spot in the OUA and the right to host the conference's Final Four tournament. Mac's revolving cast of characters swept their closest competitors, the CIS no. 8-ranked Ryerson Rams, to move to 17-0 in conference play.

Set scores were 25-23, 25-19 and 25-22 in favour of the home side, who overturned a first-set deficit despite the removal of star outside Stephen Maar from the game through injury.

In his place, fellow fourth-year standout Danny Demyanenko led McMaster, and the match, with 10 points, while rookie outside Craig Ireland continued to impress off the bench. Ireland boasting a blistering 38 per cent hitting, thumping four kills to the floor on just eight attempts in relief.

Ryerson entered Thursday's match on a high note, and had McMaster on the back foot to begin the first set. They led by as many as seven points at 18-11, after an attacking error by Maar, and appeared to have set well under their control. But Mac reeled off the next four points, and continued to close the gap as the teams moved toward the finish line, ultimately overtaking Ryerson at 23-22 after a kill by Maar. Three points later, the set was sealed in the Marauders favour, when Jayson McCarthy stuffed Ryerson's Lucas Coleman for 25-23.

A 4-1 run to open the second set staked the home side to an early lead, which they would not relinquish. Doubling up the Rams at the technical timeout after a kill from Demyanenko, McMaster comfortably saw out the set at 25-19 when McCarthy answered a Ryerson ace with a clinching kill.

Both teams saw their levels drop in a sloppy third set, where McMaster proved the steadier of the two. Trailing by a point at the technical timeout, the Marauders reestablished control by winning six of the next seven, and survived a late comeback attempt before winning the match on a Rams service error.