The Nipissing Lakers men's volleyball had only pride to play for after their playoff hopes were dashed Friday night.

And they certainly showed a lot of it when they closed out the season against the powerful McMaster Marauders.

Despite coming up short, losing 3-1, they showed a lot of heart, fighting back in the third set to force the match to a fourth.

Right from the start, the teams were going point for point with neither team gaining too much control and when they did, the other would step up and grab back some of that momentum.

Eventually it was McMaster who came out on top of the first set, using their experience to pick up a 25-22 victory to kick the match off.

The second set broke down pretty similar overall, as neither team was able to really take a stranglehold of the match, despite some big hits, blocks and serves from both sides.

Once again, it was the Marauders who escaped with the win, claiming set two by a final of 25-19 to put the Lakers on the ropes.

In a do or die set, Nipissing came up with an extremely gutsy performance.

With only a win in the standings and the feeling of taking a win into the of-season, it would have been easy for Nipissing to pack it in and call it a season, but they fought back.

They used some big blocks late and a strong serving game to come away with a 25-22 win and push the match to a fourth set.

Riding high off their win in set three, the Lakers came out strong in the fourth and grabbed an early lead.

Nipissing scored the first five points of the fourth set and battled the whole way, but it was McMaster who ended up coming out on top, winning 25-19 to pick up the fourth set victory.

Offensively, the Lakers weren't as potent as they were Friday night, but they still were able to show their balance on the court.

Cam Branch and Lyndon Sonego each had nine kills to lead Nipissing, while Steve Wood added six and Jason Cannon had five.

The Lakers finished with seven wins on the season and missed the playoffs by just four points.

The team has the potential for big things next year, with a great group of returning players and a few recruits already signed for the future.