CALGARY (CIS) – The McMaster Marauders dominated from start to finish to capture the CIS bronze medal in men’s volleyball Saturday, sweeping the Laval Rouge et Or in three sets (25-21, 25-23, 25-18) in the University of Calgary’s Jack Simpson Gym.
 
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/mvball/index
 
The Marauders hit better than 40 per cent in the match to earn a measure of revenge over Laval, which defeated them in the national championship game a year ago. The win also ensured Ontario University Athletics with a third berth in the 2015 CIS men’s volleyball championship, to be hosted by the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.
 
It was a bittersweet ending for the Marauders, who came into the weekend with national championship aspirations but fell in four sets to Western in the semi-final Friday night.
 
“It feels good,” explained setter Austin Campion Smith, named the Marauders’ player of the match. “It’s not the medal we wanted, but I’m happy we’re going to walk away with a medal.
 
“We started with serving pressure and we passed the ball well. We remember these guys from last year in the final and we really wanted to beat them. We played a really good game tonight.”
 
Second-seeded McMaster shook off the semi-final disappointment and came out firing, recording the best offensive set of the tournament in the first at .560, recording 14 kills without a single error. Laval also had a strong set offensively as the two sides put on a solid display, but the No. 5 seed Rouge et Or just couldn’t stop the Marauders, who emerged with a 25-21 set victory.
 
The second was a little sloppier on both sides and was tight as a result, though McMaster managed to take control at 21-17 late in the set. A pair of kills and a block by Olivier Jannini, however, knotted the affair at 23-23, but once again it was the Marauders that would come out on top as Brandon Koppers put down back-to-back kills to end it in McMaster’s favour.
 
The Marauders’ play at the net was key in the final frame, with five of their 12 blocks in the match coming in the third. Koppers, Stephen Maar, and Dany Demyanenko each recorded two blocks in the third set, forcing eight Laval errors and just a .115 hitting percentage for the Rouge et Or, and the final three points of the match came off service errors as McMaster captured bronze with a 25-18 win.
 
Maar was McMaster’s kill leader with 10, while Jayson McCarthy added eight and Demyanenko seven. Tyson Alexander’s five blocks led the way, with Maar adding four more – including two solos – while McCarthy and Koppers picked up three each. Campion Smith earned his game MVP honours with 35 set assists and five digs, quarterbacking his team to 40 kills and a bronze medal.
 
For the Rouge et Or, Jannini was named player of the match after a 12-kill performance. Tommy Bélisle also had a strong outing, recording nine kills and eight digs, but no other player recorded more than four kills for the Rouge et Or, which leaves Calgary with a fourth-place finish after capturing a fourth national title in 2013.
 
STATS LEADERS
 
Boxscore: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/mvball/2014/boxscores_champ/20140301_vbjc.xml
 

McMaster

Kills: Stephen Maar (10), Jayson McCarthy (8), Dany Demyanenko (7)
Points: Stephen Maar (14), Dany Demyanenko (10.5)
Blocks: Tyson Alexander (5), Stephen Maar (4)
Digs: Austin Campion Smith, Pawel Jedrzejewski (5), Brandon Koppers (4)
Service aces: Dany Demyanenko, Jori Mantha (2), Stephen Maar (1)
 
Player of the match: Austin Campion Smith
 
Laval
Kills: Olivier Jannini (12), Tommy Bélisle (9)
Points: Olivier Jannini (14), Tommy Bélisle (10.5)

Blocks: Tommy Bélisle (2), Olivier Jannini, Olivier Bibeault-Pinard, Bruno Lortie (1)

Digs: Tommy Bélisle (8), Bruno Lortie (7)
Service aces: Olivier Jannini, Olivier Bibeault-Pinard, Bruno Lortie, Alexandre Raymond (1)
 
Player of the match: Olivier Jannini
 
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times MOUNTAIN TIME)
 

Thursday, February 27

12:30 Quarter-final #1: Laval 3, Dalhousie 0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-22)
14:30 Quarter-final #2: Alberta 3, Montreal 0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-12)
18:00 Quarter-final #3: Western 3, Trinity Western 2 (25-21, 22-25, 19-25, 27-25, 15-12)
20:00 Quarter-final #4: McMaster 3, Calgary 1 (24-26, 25-21, 25-17, 25-22)
 

Friday, February 28

12:30 Consolation #1: Dalhousie 3, Montreal 2 (25-17, 27-29, 16-25, 25-23, 15-13)
14:30 Consolation #2: Trinity Western 3, Calgary 1 (19-25, 26-24, 25-16, 25-22)
18:00 Semifinal #1: Alberta 3, Laval 1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23)
20:00 Semifinal #2: Western 3, McMaster 1 (25-23, 17-25, 30-28, 25-20)
 

Saturday, March 1

13:00 Fifth-place: Trinity Western 3, Dalhousie 1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-12, 25-15)  
15:00 Bronze medal: McMaster 3, Laval 0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-18)
18:00 Gold medal: No. 1 Alberta vs. No. 6 Western   (www.CIS-SIC.tv)