McMaster hosts York, Waterloo and Western for Men's Volleyball Final Four
A grueling 18-game regular and an intense quarter-final round has led the top four men’s volleyball teams to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Final Four hosted by McMaster University, with semifinals taking place on February 22 at 5:30 and 8 p.m., and the gold medal match on February 23 at 7 p.m.
The McMaster Marauders earned the right to host the championship tournament by virtue of their 17-1 regular season record and first place finish in the OUA. McMaster was nearly unstoppable during the regular season, winning their first 17 matches before falling in the season finale to their semifinal opponent, the York Lions. The Marauders received a bye and did not play a quarter-final match, giving them the opportunity to be well rested as they make their run for the title.
Waterloo finished the regular year with 14-4 record, but finished the season with consecutive losses to Western and Windsor. As the Warriors entered their quarter-final matchup with Toronto Varsity Blues no one was sure which version of the squad would show up; the rusty Warriors who had lost two straight, or the dynamic Warriors who earned the nation’s No. 10 ranking. In the match with Toronto, Waterloo fell behind early, letting Toronto jump out to a 7-2 lead before bouncing back to take the frame 25-20. Toronto started quickly in the second, eventually taking the set 25-17. Eventually, Waterloo shook loose the cobwebs, returned to form, and claimed the next two hotly contested sets, 26-24 and 25-23, and the match to earn their berth to the Final Four.
After a 13-5 regular season, the Western Mustangs found themselves in third place in the OUA, with a playoff matchup against the Ryerson Rams on the horizon. Ryerson was a much improved team in 2013, more than doubling their win total from a year ago, so Western would be in tough. Playing in front of a home crowd, OUA player of the year Garrett May and the rest of the Mustangs came out strong taking the first two sets 25-18 and 25-17. But the Rams had some fight left in them, stealing the third set. In what seemed like a point-for point battle in the fourth, Western eventually prevailed to take the fourth 25-20 and punch their ticket to a Final Four matchup with the Waterloo Warriors.
The York Lions enter the Final Four as the only road team to win in the quarter-finals. After going 10-8 in the regular season and finishing in seventh, the Lions would travel to Queen’s looking to play spoiler against the third place Gaels. The opening set was a close one, with Queen’s sneaking away with a 25-23 win, but York responded by taking the second set 25-22. Queen’s looked to stuff the Lions’ momentum in the third as they jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. York tried to play catch-up but eventually fell 25-22. With their backs against the wall, the gusty Lions squad played arguably their best set of the season as they took the fourth 25-16, setting up a winner-take-all fifth set. It looked like Queen’s was in control, battle to match point at 16-15, but led by OUA all-star Ray Szeto and team captain Karim Khalil the Lions wouldn’t give in, reeling off three consecutive points to take the set and the match. In pulling off the upset, the Lions booked their ticket to the OUA semifinals for the first time since 2007.
The first semifinal will see the Waterloo Warriors take on the Western Mustangs at 5:30 p.m. on February 22. The teams split their season series, with each squad taking a 3-2 win on their opponents home floor. The matchup will pit the OUA player of the, Garrett May, against Waterloo’s first team all-star Zach Doherty.
The second semifinal pits the top-seeded McMaster Marauders taking on the team who handed them their only blemish during a 17-1 regular-season run, the York Lions. McMaster enters the contest having not played a game since the falling in straight sets to York to close out the regular season, nearly two weeks ago. York enters the match as an underdog, finishing fifth in the regular season, but when the game begins on Friday at 8 p.m. the Lions will be looking to knock off McMaster for the second time in 2013.
Friday’s games are of extra importance as, in addition to having a chance to battle for the OUA title, both winners will receive a berth the CIS national championship tournament at Laval. Each game of the OUA men’s volleyball championship can be seen live, either online at www.marauders.ca/live or on Cable 14 in Hamilton.
