Marauders withstand early barrage to win fifth consecutive Forsyth Trophy

HAMILTON, ON -- Weathering an early onslaught from the Waterloo Warriors, the Marauders found their footing and put the pedal to the floor Saturday, sweeping their rivals to clinch their fifth consecutive Forsyth Trophy at the Burridge Gym.

Everything short of the kitchen sink was thrown the home side's way in a topsy-turvy opener, which Mac swung late with the help of two vintage rallies, before imposing their will on the final to carry it 25-21, 25-11 and 25-21. 

With the victory, McMaster matched the longest championship-winning streak in OUA men's volleyball history, dating back to the original awarding of the Forsyth Trophy in 1966. The Toronto Varsity Blues achieved five consecutive titles between 1995 and 1999.

The Marauders have now won eight of the last 10 OUA titles, while Waterloo claimed an OUA medal for a third straight year Saturday. For the second straight season, Mac cruised through the OUA playoffs without dropping a set. 

Both teams now advance to the U SPORTS Championship, being hosted by the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

After hitting 79 per cent in Friday's semifinal win, newly-minted OUA West Player of the Year Danny Demyanenko was similarly efficient in Saturday's final, making good on six of seven attacks versus one error (71 per cent), while adding four and a half blocks for a game high of 10.5 points. 

The outside duo of Andrew Richards and Brandon Koppers followed close behind, with matching total of 9.5 points. Richards found pay dirt regularly, killing eight of 16 attempts versus two errors (38 per cent) and adding a block and a half.

While he was stymied on the attack, opposite Jayson McCarthy did damage from the service line, racking up six aces in the win. 

Rookie outside Kevin Lebreux was Waterloo's highest scorer in a losing effort with eight points, but was held to a negative hitting percentage. The Warriors as a team were offensively frustrated on the night, hitting negative five per cent with 22 errors versus 19 kills. 

The visitors came out swinging in Saturday's first set, and held a four-point lead at the technical timeout after a ball-handling error from Richards. 

Watching the lead evaporate in a hurry, Waterloo called time after ceding four straight points out of the technical, and from there, the hosts made their move. McCarthy answered a service error from Warriors setter Nikola Dimitrijevic with an ace, powering Mac ahead 22-20. Four points later, the set came to a close, as Waterloo outside Aidan Simone pumped a jump float serve into the net on set point.

Setting the tone early in the second, Mac won the first four points via McCarthy aces, and chased Waterloo to a timeout. Despite a miniature run from the Warriors, Mac led 16-9 at the technical after a Richards kill, and they sped away from there.

Mac conceded just two more points in the set, embarking on a 9-2 run to cap the set, and ending it with the help of a pair of aces from second-year opposite Matt Passalent. 

Showing resiliency in the third, the Warriors led 6-4 early, after an ace from Kevin Lebreux. But a pair of small service runs helped Mac power back into the driver's seat at the technical timeout, and another Richards kill took them into the break ahead 16-13. 

Mac's lead stretched to as many as six down the stretch, and while Waterloo mounted something of a comeback to cut the deficit to two at 23-21, that was as close as they would come. 

A Koppers kill brought up three match points, and the Marauders converted on the first of those, ending it on a stuff block courtesy middle Peter Khodkevych.