The Marauders flooded the OUA award winners with seven of their members being recognized: Dave Preston, Maxime Gratton, Sam Cooper, Jordan Pereira, Mateusz Wlodarski, Wojtek Kraj, and Robbie Fujisawa.
Outside hitter Maxime Gratton was among the league's elite in his foray onto the university scene, immediately impacting the powerhouse McMaster program as their seventh OUA rookie of the year selection.
In addition to cracking the top-20 with 2.9 points per set and 2.44 kills per set, the Ottawa, Ont. product added 13 service aces (10th in OUA) and ranked fifth in the league with a .326 hitting percentage. Looking closer at the impressive rookie, Gratton's strongest stretches came to both open and close the year, registering a career-best 14 points in just his second OUA match, before reeling off three straight games of at least 11.5 points to end the regular season.
Gratton's start in the OUA has come under the guidance of one of the best in the business on the sidelines, and after leading the West's top rookie and company to another successful season, McMaster coach Dave Preston has been tabbed as the coach of the year for a sixth time.
The Hamilton, Ont. native becomes the only Marauder coach to earn the honour with that regularity, and in his previous five selections, Preston has been named the national coach of the year on three occasions. En route to his latest honour, Preston saw his Marauders lead the conference in nearly every statistical category, ranking first in kills per set (11.63), hitting percentage (.319), assists per set (11.17), service aces per set (2.63), digs per set (8.93), and points per set (16.8).
Putting together a perfect regular season for the first time since 2017, a season wherein the team finished as U SPORTS bronze medalists, Preston's group is once again looking to turn their success into hardware, and they'll do so with a talent-laden roster that features four all-stars and two all-rookies.
In his second year of eligibility, Sam Cooper made a big impact on offense for the Marauders. The Hamilton, Ont. local ranked second in the OUA in service aces per set, with a stat of 0.88, as well as ranking top-10 in kills per set (3.20; 8th in OUA) and in hitting percentage (0.274; 9th in OUA). The third year English and Culture Studies major was well-deserved in being named to the first all-star team.
Captain of the Marauders, Jordan Pereira joins Cooper in being named to the first all-star team. The fifth-year libero from Hamilton, Ont. ranked fifth in the OUA in digs per set, with a stat of 1.90. Leaving behind a legacy, Pereira proved to be a key component of the Marauder defense.
6'8" outside hitter Mateusz Wlodarski was named to the second all-star team after ranking second in the OUA for hitting percentage with 0.381. The Ottawa, Ont. native also ranked fourth in service aces per set, with an average of 0.53.
Accompanying Wlodarski, Wojtek Kraj was named to the second all-star team in his second year of eligibility. The 6'10" Hamilton, Ont. local lead the OUA in blocks per set, with a staggering 1.48 average.
Playing in his OUA debut, setter Robbie Fujisawa ranked top-10 in the OUA for digs per set (1.76; 7th in OUA). The North York, Ont. native was named to the All-Rookie team alongside teammate Maxime Gratton.
The complete list of 2021-22 OUA men's volleyball award winners and all-stars is as follows:
Award Winners
West Division
Most Valuable Player – Logan House, Brock
Rookie of the Year – Maxime Gratton, McMaster
Coach of the Year – Dave Preston, McMaster
Dale Iwanoczko Award of Merit – Amit Sayal, Western
East Division
Most Valuable Player – Erik Siksna, Queen's
Rookie of the Year – Jacob Walker, Rams
Coach of the Year – Steve Leknois, RMC
Dale Iwanoczko Award of Merit – Dan Everton, York
All-Stars
West Division
First Team
Logan House, Brock
Sam Cooper, McMaster
Jonathan Pickett, Guelph
Jackson Bere, Western
Jordan Pereira, McMaster
Liam MacArthur, Waterloo
Steven Abrams, Windsor
Second Team
Mateusz Wlodarski, McMaster
Grant Reddon, Brock
Colm Guyn, Waterloo
Dami Alalade, Windsor
Wojtek Kraj, McMaster
Josiah Esau, Western
Ben Kissack, Guelph
All-Rookies
Maxime Gratton, McMaster
Liam MacArthur, Waterloo
Robbie Fujisawa, McMaster
Jonah Millard, Western
Gustavo Siqueira, Windsor
Jacob Ferland, Brock
Joshua Glasbergen, Guelph East Division
First Team
Erik Siksna, Queen's
Jackson Young, Nipissing
Zane Grossinger, Toronto
Evan Falardeau, Toronto
Andrew Tauhid, York
Lachlan McBride, Queen's
Lhexen Rabit, Rams
Second Team
Mitchell Neuert, Toronto
Lukas Kaufman, Queen's
Michael Rowsell, RMC
Tyrus Cuculick, Nipissing
Saad Shaikh, Rams
Cole Duncanson, Queen's
Daniel Tudor, Toronto
All-Rookies
Jacob Walker, Rams
Cole Duncanson, Queen's
Jasraj Nijjar, York
Hunter Arulpragasam, Toronto
Thomas Wrigley, Nipissing
Lucas Yang, Rams
Adam Reid, RMC
