NO MORE THAN FINAL FOUR: Both Marauders teams met the Rams in their respective OUA semi-finals, and each bested the Rams to advance to the conference championship match a season ago. McMaster's women swept Ryerson 25-21, 25-17, 25-21 to advance in Toronto, while the Mac men swept Ryerson 25-16, 28-26, 25-19 to seal a berth in the title match on home court at the Burridge Gym.

STANDARD BEARERS: Entering the season as defending OUA champions, and after a preseason that included a title at the Ottawa Invitational tournament and wins over the Rams and Toronto Varsity Blues at home, McMaster's women opened at four in the first U SPORTS national rankings of 2017-18. They currently stand as the only OUA representative among the top 10.

OLDER AND WISER: The Marauders women return five of their six starters from last season's championship team in 2017-18, with only opposite Rebecca Steckle moving on via graduation. OUA all-stars Joanna Jedrzejewska (Hamilton, ON), Maicee Sorensen (Hamilton, ON) and Carly Heath (Water Valley, AB) remain on the left, in the middle and at libero respectively, while outside Aleks Arsovic (Burlington, ON) and setter Caitlin Genovy (Stoney Creek, ON) return as seniors.

LIVING WITHOUT LIVINGSTON: Ryerson's women will boast a different look offensively in 2017-18, after losing their top hitter of a season ago, Veronica Livingston, to graduation. The First Team OUA All-Star finished sixth in the conference a season ago with an average of 2.98 kills per set, and handily led Ryerson with 460 total attempts. Fellow all-stars Theanna Vernon and Julie Longman return at middle and libero for the Rams.

SHOOTING FOR SIX: The McMaster men open the OUA season as defending champions for the fifth consecutive season, having matched the conference record for longest title winning streak with their championship victory in March. Mac's five-year reign as league champions (2013-17) mirrors the previous conference record set by Toronto between 1995 and 1999.

DOING WITHOUT DANNY: McMaster enters 2017-18 without the services of 2017 OUA West Player of the Year Danny Demyanenko, who graduated after being awarded the Ivor Wynne Award as McMaster's Male Athlete of the Year. In his absence, the duo of Peter Khodkevych (Woodbridge, ON) and rookie Bennett Swan (Oakville, ON) will shoulder the bulk of the middle duties this season.

POWERFUL PASSALENT: With the graduation of 2017 all-star Jayson McCarthy, McMaster's long-time starter on the right side, third-year player Matt Passalent (Hamilton, ON) steps into the breach this season. Passalent showed promise in the role on Oct. 21, when he produced 22 kills and hit at a 65 per cent clip in McMaster's 3-2 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes at Burridge Gym. He was named as McMaster's Male Athlete of the Week Oct. 24 as a result.

COLEMAN AND COMPANY: Ryerson's men return all but one of their four conference all-stars from 2016-17, including First Team All-Canadian outside Lucas Coleman, setter Adam Anagnostopoulos and outside Brendan Kewin. The trio enter their final year of eligibility having advanced to the OUA Final Four three times in their careers, including the 2016 final at McMaster, but have yet to win a conference championship.


Both matches are FREE to McMaster students wearing maroon who present their student card at the ticket table. All tickets can be purchased at the door within an hour of first serve (5:00 p.m.).