McMaster men's volleyball ready to defend OUA title at home

It took a grueling 20-game regular season and a pair of quarter-final matchups but now the top four men’s volleyball teams have found themselves with a spot in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Final Four, hosted by the McMaster Marauders.

McMaster earned the top seed and the right to host the event for a second straight year after a remarkable 19-1 regular season. The defending OUA-champion Marauders are also the top ranked team in the CIS, a position they have held for seven of this year’s 14 polls.

The Marauders are led by a core group of players that bring experience and accolades to the court. 2014 OUA player of the year Jori Mantha leads a quartet of Marauders in the top 20 in points per set in the OUA this season. Joining Mantha atop the scoring charts are second teamers Danny Demyanenko and Jayson McCarthy plus former all-rookie team member Stephen Maar. Setting up the McMaster attack is Austin Campion-Smith, who was named a first team all-star this season.

Also earning a bye directly to the Final Four are the Western Mustangs. Western earned their berth thanks in large part to a 3-2 win over Waterloo in the final weekend of the season. The victory pushed them to a 17-3 record and second place, finishing two points ahead of the Warriors in the standings.

The Mustang attack is bolstered by fourth-year veterans Garrett May and Phil James, both earning first team all-star nods this season, plus second team setter Sean McKay. May enters the Final Four after finishing third in points per set (3.94) during the regular season.  James was a wall at the net, collecting 62 blocks; second in the OUA.

On the heels of the most successful regular season in recent history, the Ryerson Rams will take part in the OUA Final Four for the first time since 2008. The Rams entered the playoffs as the fifth seed and advanced by earning a 3-2 road win over the York Lions.

Ryerson’s leader all season has been outside hitter Robert Wojick. The third-year veteran finished second in the OUA in total kills (321) and became an OUA all-star for the first time in his career, garnering a first team nod. Also key to the success of the Rams has been a pair of OUA all-rookie team members, setter Adam Anagnostopoulos and middle Jeff Ardron.

The Waterloo Warriors will be appearing in their third straight OUA Final Four. Finishing the regular season in third place, Waterloo battled Queen’s in the quarter-finals. The Warriors dropped the opening set to a pesky Gaels squad, but rebounded by winning three straight sets and advancing with a 3-1 win.

Scott Thompson, Waterloo’s first team all-star setter, has been a driving force all season long for the Warriors. Thompson finished second in the OUA in total assists with 720, and did a great job of setting up the multi-faceted Waterloo attack. On the receiving end of many of those sets were second team all-stars Jordan Dyck and James Evans. Evans led the Warriors with 210 kills during the regular season, while Dyck chipped in 139 of his own.

The first semifinal pits Western against Waterloo at 5:30 p.m. on February 21. The Mustangs took both meetings with the Warriors in the regular season with each contest going a full five sets. The matchup is a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Western took 3-1 to advance to the finals.

The host Marauders will battle Ryerson in the other semifinal at 8 p.m. McMaster has had the Rams’ number this season taking a 3-0 win at home and winning 3-1 at Ryerson. Ryerson will be facing an uphill battle in this round. The Rams haven’t knocked off McMaster at the Burridge Gymnasium since 2006.

Friday’s games are of extra importance as, in addition to having a chance to battle for the OUA title, both winners will receive a berth the CIS national championship tournament at the University of Calgary. Each game of the OUA Final Four can be seen online at www.marauders.ca/live.