Box Score HAMILTON, Ont. – It was almost an exact rematch of last year's Final Four gold medal game as the CIS No. 1 McMaster Marauders defeated the CIS No. 8 Western Mustangs 3-1 to capture the OUA Men's Volleyball Championship banner for the second consecutive year and hand the Mustangs silver medals.
 
Western advanced to the championship match after defeating Waterloo in their semi-final matchup last night to earn a spot in the finals as well as a birth in the CIS Championship next week in Calgary. The Mustangs were unable to defeat the Marauders in either of their two previous meetings this season, despite taking the McMaster squad to five sets in each contest, and tonight's match would be no different as a dominating McMaster team ended matters in four frames.
 
Although the Marauders showed their prowess from the first point of the game, the Mustangs held McMaster within two points until 10-8. Separated by five points midway through the frame the Marauders would only extend their lead from there as they caused serious problems for the purple and white from the service line. An unanswered four-point run would put the Mustangs behind 18-11 and, despite a serving run of their own coming from Justin Scapinello to narrow the deficit to 20-15, the McMaster squad would not look back as they went on to take the first set 25-16.
 
Despite dropping the first set, Western wasn't ready to sit back as they entered the second frame and quickly got off to a 4-2 lead—their first advantage of the match. A tough spin serve by Jayson McCarthy brought the Marauders to 6-5 while on the other side of the court the Mustangs struggled with their own serving. Long rallies were a trademark of the second set as the middle of the frame would see both teams trade points until an even 12 for both sides.
 
Late in the set, scramble plays began to translate into kills for the Mustangs as they were able to continue to be aggressive on broken plays and catch the huge Marauders block off guard. The Mustangs would take the opportunity to capitalize with a run of their own, taking a five-point run to put the purple and white up 18-15 with Scapinello on the line, forcing Mac to call their first time-out of the game. It wouldn't be enough for the Marauders, however, as the Mustangs pushed to a 25-21 win, completed with a kill from Garrett May to put the match at one set apiece.
 
After the third set started with both teams trading points, the Marauders went on an early run to take a 9-5 advantage in the third. The Mustangs would keep it contained as they battled back to 10-10, but Tyson Alexander would be unstoppable for the Marauders as they once again separated themselves to an 18-14 lead. The next few rallies would be split among the two teams to keep the Marauders up by four at 21-17 and, although another kill from May narrowed the deficit to three points, it would be as close as the purple and white would come as the Marauders took the third set 25-19.
 
With McMaster leading two sets to one, the two top teams in the OUA entered the fourth frame—what could be the deciding set of the match—with a provincial title on the line. After the Marauders opened the scoring, a huge double block by Scapinello and Phil James would bring the Mustangs within two points at 6-4. But the Marauders would not let up, going on their longest run of the match for a 16-8 advantage.
 
A kill from May and tough serves from Sean Mckay, including two aces on the day, would take the Mustangs on a small run of their own to 16-10, but the serving errors that plagued both teams throughout the match cut a Western comeback short as McMaster extended the lead to 20-11. Derek Kuiack put the ball past a triple block for his sixth kill of the match late in the set but it wouldn't be enough, as the Marauders took the set 25-15 and the men's OUA title in front of a thundering home crowd for their second championship banner in a row. 
 
Ultimately, the 6'7, 6'8, and 6'9 triple block on the McMaster side would prove relentless for Scapinello and May on high outside balls while troubles on service reception limited the impact of the Western middles. The McMaster offence was untouchable, with highs of an astounding 63.2% team kill percentage in the first set and a 47.4% average in the fourth, although both teams struggled with consistency from the service line with 19 and 17 errors for McMaster and Western, respectively.
 
Leading the Western offence after four sets was Scapinello with 12 points from 10 kills and two aces and May with 11 points, all from kills. James recorded the team's highest attack percentage at 23.1%, followed closely by May at 22.2%, while Matthew Silver led the Mustangs defensively with a team-high seven digs followed by Mckay with five.
 
The Mustangs take home the silver medal from the OUA Men's Volleyball Final Four Championship and will now join the Marauders in Calgary, as both teams advance to the CIS Championships from February 28 to March 2.