The Marauders swept the Golden Bears in the Burridge on Sunday afternoon to earn themselves U SPORTS bronze.
Leading McMaster's offense was Brendan Mills (London, Ont.) with 10 kills and five digs, while teammate Sam Cooper (Hamilton, Ont.) made eight digs. Wojciech Kraj (Gliwice, Poland) was named MVP of the match, making four kills and two solo blocks. Supporting the offense was Robbie Fujisawa (North York, Ont.) with 25 assists, as well as four digs and a solo block.
The Marauders came out strong in the first set, earning the first three points which included an ace from Mateusz Wlodarski (Ottawa, Ont.). Alberta struggled to settle in on the Marauder court, as McMaster took the early lead, forcing a Golden Bears timeout. Leading McMaster's offense was Mills with three kills. Late in the set, the Golden Bears were able to close the gap on the scoreboard, with McMaster struggling a bit with their service errors. Despite this, the Marauders were able to hold onto their lead, and ultimately won the set 25-21.
The second set was a close match, with the teams matching each other for points until 4-4, after which McMaster took a small lead. The Golden Bears were strong on their blocks, challenging McMaster's offense to tie the score back at the 14th point. Late in the set, a huge block from Mills and Kraj lit up the home crowd and pushed Alberta to use a timeout. Cooper led the Marauders in kills for the set with five, while Fujisawa made eight assists. The set was competitive, as the Golden Bears tied the score back up at the 23rd point, but McMaster didn't break under pressure and were able to edge them out 25-23.
The third set was another back and forth set, with McMaster holding onto a slight lead. The pressure was on for the Golden Bears, with McMaster being within one set of ending the game and earning the bronze medal. Mid-set, 6'0" setter Fujisawa made a huge solo block, forcing an Alberta timeout. The Marauders reached the set point first at 24-20 with the home crowd on their feet, but Alberta held on, staying alive for three more points and forcing Dave Preston to call a timeout. Coming back from the break, Fujisawa assisted Tyler Pavelic (Oakville, Ont.) with a kill to finish the game 25-23.
In the post-game press conference, Preston said, "in our program, we talked a lot about character, and that's what it took today, is just straight character." Outside hitter Cooper said, "something that coach talks a lot about, it's one of our beliefs, is belief in ourselves. And that's always a motto for us."
The Marauders end their season as the U SPORTS bronze medalists with it also being their last year with head coach Preston who has made the decision to retire after 21 seasons with McMaster.
