Hamilton, ON – Nipissing Men's Volleyball split their weekend series with the McMaster Marauders on January 16th and 17th in Hamilton, Ontario.
Friday, Jan. 16th, the Lakers rolled into Burridge Gymnasium eager to build momentum off of two big wins the weekend previous.
The first set saw Nipissing win 25-22. McMaster led by three 20-17 before Nipissing won five of the next seven points to take a 22-22 tie into a McMaster timeout. After the timeout, Nipissing won three points in a row off of kills from Marc Marchand and Zander Kasunich to win the set and lead 1-0 in the match.
The second set saw Nipissing jump to a 5-2 lead. The Lakers built their lead to 13-8, capitalizing on McMaster errors in the process. Trent O'Brien's kill gave Nipissing their 14th point, and the Lakers took three in a row from there to build a 17-10 lead. The Marauders scored four of five points after a timeout to get back in the game. Nipissing responded with three straight points to regain a seven point lead. Form there, the teams would trade points before Nipissing took the set 25-18 to lead 2-0 in the match.
On their heels, McMaster fought back, winning the third set 25-21 to stay alive. The score was tied at 20 before the Marauders scored four points in a row to lead 24-20. Nipissing would get to 21 points off of a Mac serving error, but the Marauders would finish the set on the next point to get on the board, down 2-1.
McMaster began the fourth set by getting to a 6-2 lead. Nipissing battled back, scoring four of five points off of Marc Marchand and Justice Smith kills to trail by just a point. Nipissing would take the lead 13-12 winning four points in a row. The teams traded points from here before Mac scored four in a row, followed by three in a row after a Nipissing timeout to lead 22-17. McMaster sealed the set by winning three of the final four points, winning 25-20 and sending this match to a decisive fifth and final set.
In the fifth, Nipissing led 3-0 before Mac tied it up. McMaster led 8-6 before Nipissing scored four points in a row to lead 10-8. Nipissing would lead 12-9 off of a Marc Marchand kill. A Mac service error gave Nipissing their 13th point, just two away from victory. That's as close as the Lakers would get, as Mac won five points in a row to win 15-13 and take the match 3-2.
Nipissing's Zander Kasunich led the team with 17 kills, followed by Marc Marchand with 15 and Trent O'Brien with 10. Kasunich, Jack Svendsen, and Ben Franz all recorded a service ace. Svendsen recorded 45 assists in the loss and Xavier Legace grabbed 12 digs.
Looking to get back to their winning ways, the Lakers once again faced McMaster on Saturday, January 17th.
Nipissing took a 6-2 lead in the first set that grew to an 11-6 lead off of kills from Jimmy Gill and Marc Marchand. Marchand added two more kills as the lead grew to seven points. Nipissing gained four big points off of McMaster errors down the stretch and combined with kills from Jimmy Gill and Zander Kasunich gave the Lakers a 25-16 win.
McMaster roared back into the match in the second, leading 9-4 quickly. Nipissing found their footing and cut the lead to just one point for Mac as Marc Marchand served an ace. The Lakers wouldn't take the lead but would keep the set close until a three-point run gave Nipissing a 22-21 lead. Mac would tie the set at 22, then 24. Marc Marchand sealed the win for Nipissing, winning 26-24 and leading 2-0 in the match.
In the third set, McMaster would lead 12-8, then 16-11. Nipissing would come back into the match winning five of six points to tie things at 20, 21, and 22. McMaster would win three-straight to take the third 25-22.
Nipissing was eager to not McMaster back into the match, and took a 10-6 lead off of Mac attacking errors and Zander Kasunich kills. Kasunich would add another and Ben Franz would give Nipissing their 12th point, leading by four. McMaster would never get closer to Nipissing than three points as the Lakers did a great job of building and maintaining their lead. Then, a run of five-straight points for the Lakers gave them a 23-15 advantage. Ben Franz had two kills in this run, and Mac had three errors. Ben Franz would add another kill for Nipissing's 24th point of the set, and Marc Marchand would send Nipissing back to North Bay with a 3-1 match win, taking the fourth set 25-18.
Marchand led the Lakers with 15 kills, while Zander Kasunich and Ben Franz each added nine. Marchand scored one service ace in the match.
Ben Franz held things down defensively for Nipissing with six big blocks. Jack Svendsen had another big game, totaling 43 assists. Xavier Legace totaled 14 digs for Nipissing in the win.
The Lakers move to 7-7 on the season after splitting their series with McMaster.
Nipissing MVB is back at home this coming weekend with matchups on tap against the Trent Excalibur. The first game will go Friday, Jan. 23 at 8PM, while the second is slated for Saturday, Jan. 24 at 4PM. Games will be live on OUA.tv.
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