It was a battle of the two top teams in the OUA West, and two teams both ranked in the U Sports top 10, when the Marauders met the Gryphons in Guelph Saturday.
Despite losing just their second set of the conference season, the no. 2-ranked Mac weathered a test from the no. 10-ranked hosts to come away with a 3-1 win (25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 25-18).
Improving to 7-0 on the season, the Marauders further solidified their hold on the top spot in the OUA West with the win. The Gryphons, meanwhile, suffered their second consecutive loss since resuming OUA play a week earlier.
The veteran pair of Brandon Koppers and Jayson McCarthy led Mac in the win, with totals of 18.5 and 18 points respectively.
Koppers had a match-high 17 kills on 32 attempts (.406), while adding an ace and a block assist, while McCarthy went 15 of 27 (.370) with an ace and two block assists.
Guelph was coming off of a 3-1 loss to the Brock Badgers a week ago, while McMaster kept themselves busy over the midseason break with some competition from south of the border, which was highlighted by a 3-0 sweep of last year's NCAA Division I champion, the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Gryphons put up a tough battle in the opening set and were close on the heels of the Marauders as Mac went into the first technical timeout with a 16-14 lead. Keeping their noses narrowly out front, Mac sealed the set when Guelph's Josh Green missed from the service line for 25-22.
In the second set, McMaster would continue their strong offensive play, as they would have a match high of 16 kills in the set. The Gryphons, however, continued to keep pace with the soaring Marauders, but eventually dropped the second set 25-21.
Guelph seized momentum as they made a surge in the third set of the closely-matched game. Thanks in part to strong efforts from stars Kendrick Kerr and Joshua Green, the tenth-ranked squad was able to muster together a 25-22 set win to push the game to a fourth.
That is where the Gryphons hopes for a resurgence would end, though, as the Marauders leaned on the efficiency of hitters like Koppers and McCarthy in committing just two errors over the course of the set and coasting to a 25-18 victory.
McMaster returns to action at home on Friday, January 21, as they play host to the Western Mustangs (3-3).
