Banner Season: Gaels battle from two sets down to capture back-to-back Forsyth Cup championships

Hamilton, Ont. (via McMaster Marauders) - In a thrilling come from behind victory, the Queen’s Gaels successfully defended their title by defeating the Toronto Varsity Blues 3-2 (21-25, 18-25, 25-14, 25-17, 15-10), en route to capturing their second straight Forsyth Cup.

The Gaels captured their ninth OUA banner in program history.

Two sets into the game, the result looked in hand for the Blues who raced out to an early 2-0 set lead over the defending champs. Going for 14 more kills and nearly doubling the Gaels points totals with 35 compared to their 18, the team from Toronto looked to have Queen’s number.

But things changed fast. The Gaels recorded six of their 11 service aces in the third set alone, two of which came from Player of the Game Adam Boljkovac.

The Gaels held the Blues to just 14 points in third, and 17 in the fourth, as the momentum shifted drastically in their favour.

With the final set looming, much of the matches dramatics seemed to not phase the Gaels.

Opening the fifth, the No. 2 seed out of the OUA East shocked the Blues with a 4-1 start, as Boljkovac erupted for four straight kills. A pair of errors, and a kill from Toronto’s Evan Falardeau tighten the score by one point as the intensity increased.

Falardeau and Boljkovac traded points one more time, as OUA East Player of the Year Zac Hutcheson interjected himself with a massive kill off a Zane Grossinger assist.

The result looked imminent after Dax Tompkins denied the Blues twice to push the score to 13-9. After an attack error from Falardeau, Boljkovac connected on another Grossinger assist to clinch the win.

Joining Boljkovac in Player of the Game honours was Varsity Blues outside hitter Nicholas Terwern.

Earlier in the day, the McMaster Marauders men’s volleyball team captured bronze, defeating the Guelph Gryphons 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-21) at the Burridge Gym.

Wojtek Kraj got the game rolling for the host Marauders, going for a service ace in the opening play of action. The Gryphons were quick to find their form however, going for three straight points, capitalizing on Marauder errors.

But errors weren’t kind to either side early on, as the home team hit the technical timeout first, up 16-14, thanks to five straight points capped by a pair of Craig Ireland kills.

Out of the tech timeout, the Gryphons erupted for a 5-1 run led by two Jonathan Pickett kills, prompting a timeout for the Marauders. The breather proved vital as the hosts responded emphatically off another Kraj killed. OUA All-Rookie team member Sam Cooper carried McMaster to close the set off of back-to-back service aces.

The Marauders opened the second set similarly to how they closed the first, going for five straight unanswered points after the Gryphons picked up the first of the set. The crowd erupted with kills coming from Cooper, Ireland, and Nathan Delguidice.

The Gryphons, however, closed the deficit, capitalizing yet again on Marauder errors, going on a 6-1 run and hitting the second technical timeout with the lead at 16-15.

The flurry of points continued throughout the match, as the Maroon picked another series of unanswered points, this time going for eight that was highlighted by a Delguidice kill. The fifth-year outside hitter went on to score again with a set clinching kill.

The final set of action was a back-and-forth affair for the most part. Defensive play from Kraj, as well as kills from Cooper, Delguidice, and Bennett Swan kept the home team going.

Ultimately the Marauders last five out of six points came off of Gryphon errors, securing the win, and the bronze medal in the process.

For their efforts, Gryphons left side Zarko Ubiparip, and Marauders outside hitter Sam Cooper were named Players of the Game.

With the win the Marauders clinched a spot in next week’s U SPORTS Men’s Volleyball championship hosted by the Manitoba Bisons from March 13-15.