Banner Season: Marauders eyeing back-to-back Forsyth Cup wins in tough test with Windsor

Burlington, Ont. – The McMaster Marauders never surrendered their spot as the top-ranked OUA men’s volleyball team this season, and as they strive to maintain that status against the conference’s second-ranked squad – the Windsor Lancers – they will also look to add a Forsyth Cup Championship to the program’s storied rafters on home court. The OUA’s championship game hits the Burridge Gymnasium floor on Saturday, March 11th at 6:00pm.

Championship Details

When: Saturday, March 11 (6:00pm)
Where: Burridge Gymnasium (McMaster University)
Participating Schools (2): McMaster Marauders (host), Windsor Lancers
Watch: oua.tv / cbcsports.ca / CBC Gem
Defending Champions: McMaster Marauders

The Marauders have long held a high standard for volleyball in both the conference and country, a stretch that has seen them claim 10 titles over the past decade and a half, all under the watchful eye of head coach Dave Preston. As the storied bench boss prepares to coach in his final Forsyth Cup ahead of the Marauders hosting the U SPORTS Men’s Volleyball Championship the following week, the maroon machine would like nothing more than to add another conference banner – a second consecutive title, no less – to their impressive list.

McMaster is no stranger to racking up the wins, having done so on 18 occasions during the regular season. In fact, the nation’s No. 3 ranked team didn’t lose their first matches until the final week of regular season play. Even with those season-ending defeats, however, the team was once again a daunting matchup for any opposition.

To produce another potent season, the Marauders relied on a few key areas of success, not the least of which was their stout play at the net. The team combined for an OUA-best 174 total blocks, good for a conference-leading 2.41 per set, while also supporting their defensive efforts with just under 9.5 digs per set (3rd in OUA). They were effective from the service line as well, registering 114 aces on the year (1.58 per set; 2nd in OUA). And while they may have been middle of the pack in kills per set, they were among the most efficient hitting clubs in the conference, sitting second at .264.

A key contributor to many of these standout stats was the duo of Tyler Pavelic and Wojciech Kraj, both of whom wreaked havoc in the middle for the maroon machine en route to second team all-star nods. On the outside, it was Mateusz Wlodarski, a first team selection and the Dale Iwanoczko Award of Merit recipient, who led the charge with his 3.2 points and 2.27 kills per set, to go along with 21 solo blocks and 22 service aces on the year. Brendan Mills matched the first-teamer with his per-set point average, while Maxime Gratton, the 2021-22 West Division rookie of the year, chipped in with 2.9 points per set of his own.

It was a pair of first team all-stars who helped carry the Lancers to such lofty heights this season, meanwhile, as Zach Albert and Anthony DeGirolamo were instrumental for the blue and gold. The former ranked among the OUA’s top-10 in kills per set (3.21), points per set (3.9), and service aces per set (0.46) to capture the all-star recognition, with a great deal of that success also being sparked by the latter. The Lancers setter earned his all-star nod on the heels of a third-best 9.12 assists per set, as DeGirolamo’s keen decision-making helped orchestrate a Windsor offence that led the province with 15.4 points per set.

OUA second-teamers Luca Natase and Gustavo Siqueira also shone on the outside for the 15-win squad, who were among the most opposing offensive units in the province with 11.64 kills per set (4th in OUA), a .263 hitting percentage (3rd in OUA), and 1.64 service aces per set (1st in OUA).

With these strong numbers in tow, it is no surprise to see significant stretches of success on the court throughout the 2022-23 campaign. Windsor’s season began with six straight wins and eight victories in their first nine outings. Three-straight losses early in the winter semester set them back slightly, but they followed that up with another lengthy seven-game winning streak late in the season.

They rolled into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the OUA – while also holding a spot among the national ranks – and continued to perform therein. A balanced attacked led the Lancers to a sweep of the Mustangs in Round 1, before a 20-point performance from Albert helped them send home the reigning finalists from Toronto in four sets.

McMaster’s four-set triumph is what began their quest for the cup, meanwhile, as they turned to a combined 39 points from Brendan Mills and Sam Cooper to take down TMU in Round 1. The latter led the way once again in the team’s following matchup – a semifinal sweep over York – to secure their right to host the OUA championship for a second straight year.

Both sides have championship-calibre rosters and the skill set to thrive on the championship stage, but in their first head-to-head meeting of the season, anything is possible. And while McMaster may bring 11 Forsyth Cup titles to the table compared to a Windsor program still in search of their first, neither side will step on the Burridge Gymnasium court with anything but victory on their minds to close out the 2022-23 OUA men’s volleyball season.