Banner Season: McMaster welcomes fellow finalists to Hamilton with sights set on retaking Forsyth Cup crown
Hamilton, Ont. (by David DiCenzo) - It’s a position that all Ontario University Athletics volleyball teams covet – to be among the Final Four teams vying for a provincial banner. The field is set as the Toronto Varsity Blues, Guelph Gryphons, and the defending OUA champion Queen’s Gaels will travel to Hamilton’s Burridge Gym where the McMaster Marauders will host the Forsyth Cup.
2020 Forsyth Cup Men’s Volleyball Final Four Fan Guide
The famous trophy is named after the late Jim Forsyth who attended the University of Toronto and his alma mater is positioned well to make a run for its first championship since the 2003-04 season. The No. 6 nationally-ranked Varsity Blues, led by head coach John Barrett, rolled through the OUA regular season, finishing atop the East after registering a 17-1 record with a 13-match win streak entering the playoffs. Toronto’s fluid attack is fuelled by senior Jordan Figueira, a talented setter who racked up 618 assists (9.5 per set, good for second in the conference). In addition to pacing the OUA in total assists (744), the well-rounded Blues were also tops in kills (797) and digs (663), and second in hitting percentage (2.70). Second-year outside hitter Evan Falardeau was a problem for opponents, leading his team in kills with 239 (fourth in the OUA in kills per set at 3.57). But Toronto can defend as well as it attacks and the catalyst on that front is junior libero Daniel Tudor. Tudor showed his willingness to sacrifice defensively all season by registering 167 digs, which ranked him second in the conference with 2.49 digs per set.
The Blues entered the playoffs on a roll but were ready for a test when the quarterfinals rolled around. After jumping out to a two-set lead, Toronto eventually defeated the Brock Badgers 3-1 thanks to an epic fourth frame that finished 31-29. Falardeau was the team’s top point-getter in the matchup with 20.5. The Blues were near-perfect in terms of execution, committing just seven errors the entire match, and they’ll look for similar results against their semifinal foes from Guelph.
The upstart Gryphons enter the Forsyth Cup having just entered the national ranks. But the foundation for their Final Four appearance goes back to last season when head coach Cal Wigston’s team rallied from 2-0 down to force a fifth set in a classic OUA quarterfinal with the eventual champion Gaels. Guelph has overcome the departure of key veterans this season to finish second in the competitive West with an 11-6 record. And that youthful lineup took a step forward offensively, finishing third in the conference in kills (714) and second in total attacks (1,773). The centrepiece of that unit is athletic third-year left side Zarko Ubiparip, who ranked sixth in the OUA with 194 kills. He usually counts on second-year setter Gideon Dresser to feed him. Dresser had an outstanding season as a young player in a key position, finishing seventh in the conference with 441 assists. Another key piece of the Gryphon puzzle is Ben Kissack, a third-year libero who led the OUA in digs with 169. Defence is an important part of what the team does, evidenced by the fact that it also topped the league in solo blocks with 94.
Guelph entered this postseason with a focus and it was evident in a dominant 3-0 quarterfinal win over the Ryerson Rams (25-21, 25-20, 25-19). Ubiparip paced the team in that one with 15 kills en route to a team-high 16 points.
No. 4 Queen’s comes to the Forsyth Cup knowing full well what it takes to win the whole thing. The Gaels had a memorable 2019, taking the OUA banner after six consecutive years of McMaster dominance. And Queen’s could very well repeat after another strong campaign in which the team went 14-4 (second in the East) with a five-match win streak going into the postseason. Head coach Gabriel deGroot’s Gaels are another balanced group that can beat an opponent in a variety of ways. They are dynamic in attack, leading the OUA in three critical categories: 12.41 kills per set, 11.8 assists per set, and an impressive .288 hitting percentage. Second-year outside hitter Adam Boljkovac was a huge contributor offensively, leading Queen’s with 223 kills, while junior setter Zane Grossinger was the orchestrator of the offence, producing 605 assists (second in the OUA). Fourth-year setter Lukas Kaufman was a strong presence defensively for the defending champions, finishing fourth in the conference with 2.16 digs per set.
The Gaels made it to another Final Four with a strong showing in the quarterfinals, taking down the Windsor Lancers in straight sets. Fifth-year outside hitter Zac Hutcheson provided the spark in that performance with a match-best 15.5 points, while Boljkovac added 14 thanks to 11 kills. The win sets up a heavyweight bout in their semifinal, taking on McMaster in a rematch of last year’s championship.
The host Marauders have been the class of the OUA for what seems like forever. Prior to Queen’s win in the championship match last year, McMaster had won six consecutive banners and nine of the past 11, all coming under the guidance of head coach Dave Preston, now in his 18th year. The No. 5-ranked Marauders were a force again in the West, topping the division with a 15-2 record. They surprisingly dropped their final match of the regular season in straight sets on the road against the Windsor Lancers, but seemingly took out any residual frustrations with a surgical 3-0 win over the Nipissing Lakers (25-14, 25-16, 25-12) in last week’s quarterfinal. McMaster can get the job done in a variety of ways. The team finished second in the conference with 11.66 kills per set, thanks in part to having three players register at least 128 each. Senior outside hitter Craig Ireland paced McMaster with 140 kills. The front line was also efficient, ranking third in the league in hitting percentage at .263. Senior setter David Doty ran the offence well and ended the regular season third in the OUA with 9.33 assists per set, while fourth-year libero Jordan Pereira was a key defensive presence with a team-best 103 digs. There’s another weapon in third-year outside hitter Nathan Delguidice. He only played in 11 matches this season, but wound up ranking second in the OUA in kills per set at 3.83.
The Marauders will be motivated to get back into the winner’s circle on their home court. Only they and the defending-champion Gaels have won banners over the past 14 seasons, with the York Lions being the last different program to do so back in 2004-05. Will that dominance continue? Or will a young Guelph team and a revitalized Varsity Blues squad make for a different storyline at this year’s Forsyth Cup?
Fans looking to take in this weekend's highly anticipated final four can either purchase tickets or tune in LIVE to oua.tv to catch all of the Forsyth Cup action.
