Banner Season: Marauders earn second straight Forsyth Cup with victory over Windsor
Hamilton, Ont. (via McMaster Marauders) – The No. 3 team in the nation, the McMaster Marauders, successfully defended their OUA Championship title, securing their 12th Forsyth Cup in program history and second straight conference banner at home on Saturday night.
The Marauders picked up a 3-0 sweep of the visiting Windsor Lancers, ranked fifth in U SPORTS. After not meeting at any point during the 2022-23 campaign, both squads entered today’s Forsyth Cup Final with two playoff wins under their belts and everything on the line.
Brendan Mills continued his impressive form for the Marauders. The second year outside hitter led the maroon and grey on the offense with 12 kills and added two assists for a .625 percentage. Defensively, Mills recorded a season high six blocks, including three solo. Hamilton local, Sam Cooper, also had a big game, totaling 11 kills and added a service ace in the match. OUA First Team All-Star, Mateusz Wlodarski, contributed 10 kills. Setter, Robbie Fujisawa, recorded 24 assists to lead the Marauders in that category, while contributing one service ace and a team- high 10 digs in the win.
For the Lancers, Luca Nastase led the Windsor attack with 7 kills. Anthony DeGirolamo supported the offense, recording 18 assists in the contest. Nastase and Stephen Kary led the visitors in blocks.
McMaster started the game on the right foot, going up 2-0 to open the title match. The Lancers battled to stay in the game and kept things close. Brendan Mills made the advantage five as the Marauders went up 15-10. From there, the hosts rolled to a 25-14 Set 1 victory.
Windsor rebounded and scored the first two points of the second set. McMaster went on a run to force a Lancers’ timeout with the scoreline at 13-9 but the Marauders scored the first three points out of the break. Tyler Pavelic scored the decisive point for the maroon and grey to go up two sets to none.
With the game on the line, the Lancers came out to fight. The score was close throughout the third set but, ultimately, it was the Marauders who came out on top – 25-21 – to earn their second straight OUA banner and Forsyth Cup.
The sold out crowd in Burridge was loud all night long and ensured the maroon and grey truly had home court advantage.
Both teams will return to Burridge Gymnasium next weekend, along with six other teams from across the nation, for the 2023 U SPORTS Men’s Volleyball Championship. Quarterfinal action will get underway on Friday with the Marauders taking to the court at 6pm.
