Weekend Preview: Western men's volleyball hosts York, McMaster

The Western Mustangs men’s volleyball team heads back home from a successful weekend on the road, travelling to Kingston, Ontario and picking up wins over the RMC Paladins and Queen’s Gaels.

Rookie Justin Scapinello and 2012 All-Star Garrett May led the Mustangs with team high scores of 11.5, contributing to Western’s 46 point lead over RMC’s 28. Staying consistent, the Mustangs earned a second win in Kingston against the fourth place Gaels in four sets, two reaching 30 points, to claim victory over a competitive Queen’s squad.

May continues to lead not only the Mustangs but the OUA, with 5.64 points per game and 5.14 kills per set. Heading into this weekend Western sits in third place in the OUA with a regular season record of 5-1 with games against the York Lions and the nationally ranked McMaster Marauders on home court.

York (Saturday, November 24 @ 2:00pm)

Holding an 8-10 record and finishing in seventh place last season, the York Lions gear up for a weekend on the road to challenge the Mustangs. The Lions last met the Western Mustangs in the pre-season at the National Bank Invitational Tournament hosted by Ryerson University where York fell to Western by a 3-0. The two teams met for a second time in the tournament, this time York claiming a 3-2 win over Western.

York currently sits in sixth place in the OUA with a record of 3-4. Last weekend the Lions met the Waterloo Warriors and were unable to get their paws on a win losing 3-1. The end of the weekend held more success for the Lions coming back from being down 2-1 and earning a close five set victory. Ray Szeto was impressive in the win with a game high 29 points, 12 more than any other player. Szeto holds a season record of 101 kills, 49 digs, and 4.33 points per game.

McMaster (Sunday, November 25 @ 3:00pm)

It’s a showdown between two of the top teams in the OUA as McMaster heads to Alumni Hall on Sunday afternoon. This season, McMaster has set itself up for success, remaining undefeated with a 7-0 record and first place standing in the 2012-2013 OUA regular season, losing only one set of the 22 they’ve played.

Head coach Dave Preston is leading his veteran and rookie players to success; the Marauders are hosting a lot of size and height this season including two 2011-2012 OUA Second-Team All-Stars, 6-foot-4 Kevin Stevens and 6-foot-2 Jori Mantha. Veteran setter Austin Campion-Smith is back on the roster bringing his skills to the court from his 2011 OUA All-Rookie experience. 2012 OUA All-Rookie members Alex Elliott and Dan Groenveld are back on the roster contributing every game to keep Mac perfect thus far in the OUA 2012-2013 season.

Maroon met purple and white twice in the 2011-2012 season, where the Marauders were unable to beat the Mustangs. The two teams most recently met during the 2012 pre-season where McMaster overpowered Western in three straight sets. Last weekend the Marauders played one of their most competitive games of the season against second place Waterloo Warriors, winning in four sets. It was McMaster first game to go beyond three sets this season and was the first loss of the season for the Warriors.

The Western Mustangs men’s volleyball sets up in Alumni Hall this weekend first playing the York Lions on Saturday, November 24 at 2:00 p.m., followed by a rival match against competitive McMaster at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 25.

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