McMaster Marauders Defeat TMU Bold in Three Straight Sets

The McMaster Marauders worked up their fifth win this season against Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s volleyball team on Friday night. The Bold were swept away by the reigning champions without a win in three sets, leaving them with their fourth consecutive loss.

A big factor for the Marauders’ performance was their outside hitter Sam Cooper, who controlled the game with a total of eight kills and 12 points.

“He is one of the top left-side players in the country,” said TMU interim head coach Niko Rukavina about Cooper. “You can’t stop somebody like that, you have to try to control him.”

The Bold spent the first two sets trying to do just that. They had a hard time keeping up with the Marauders and difficulties picking up their pace. The lack of communication within the team resulted in misunderstandings in the defense and attack errors as well as reckless plays in offense.

“We got blocked a lot, they served and passed a lot better than we did. We got in our own heads and when you’re down by that much, it’s hard to stay confident,” reviewed Rukavina.

McMaster recognized their opponent’s inability to bring structure into their play on both ends and took advantage of that. They played decisively and wouldn’t let the Bold come within striking distance. After two sets, the Marauders outnumbered the blue and gold’s with 25-15 and 25-14 on the scoreboard.

But the Bold were able to shake it off in the third set. The passing plays suddenly worked much better and TMU started fighting McMaster over every single serve and dig.

“We started playing freely and took it as a learning opportunity. If we are able to compete against the top guys in the league, we can do so in every game,” said TMU’s middle Alex King on the change of mindset.

Despite this comeback, the Bold failed to push their opponent for another round and lost a tight third set with 25 to 23 points.

The outcome of the game didn’t surprise Coach Rukavina: “It was definitely a no-pressure-on-our-shoulders type of situation. They are the defending champions, they were expecting to beat us. We were not expecting to win, so we could play freely. The way we played in the third set is the mentality we would like to have.”

TMU men’s volleyball team is still in search of their first win of the season. Maybe the Bold can secure that on Sunday in Windsor.

For the McMaster Marauders it’s on to St. Catharines, where they face the Badgers on Sunday.