The Windsor Lancers men's volleyball team hit the road on Friday looking to secure a bid in the national playoffs with a win over the No. 10 McMaster Marauders in Hamilton on Friday night.
 
After beating the York Lions in four sets last week, the Lancers had their work cut out for them taking on the five time OUA champions. Despite a promising first set, the Lancers dropped the ensuing three on route to a 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 16-25, 15-25) loss.
 
 
GAME STATS
Andrew Richards had the best offensive game, scoring 17 kills for McMaster. Windsor was led on offense by Pierce Johnson who scored 11 kills for the Blue and Gold.
 
Nolan Langley was the best teammate on the floor, assisting 32 times. The Marauders were led by David Doty and his 31 assists.
 
McMaster recorded 10 blocks as a team while the Lancers could only manage three blocks on the night.
 
GAME FLOW
In the first set the Lancers were able to grab the lead early, and despite some ties, John Moate, Pierce Johnson and company never trailed. The set was tight in the early going, as the Lancers struggled to separate from McMaster. However, after the Lancers went up 14-11, not even a McMaster time out could slow them down as they gained space from their opponents. Moate punctuated the set with a game winning ace in the back corner, 25-18.
 
Windsor got out to a great start in the second set, jumping out to a quick 5-1 lead. However, the Marauders, on their home floor were determine to fight back and fight back they did. Not only did the Marauders close gap, they opened one of their own, taking their first lead of the game in the second set. The Lancers effort to come back came up just short as they dropped the second set, 25-23.
 
In the third set, the hosts kept their foot on the gas as they looked to go up a set. The Lancers were playing from behind nearly for the whole set and just couldn't catch up the Marauders as any Lancers points were answered in short time.  After a 25-16 set, the Marauders were up 2-1 over the Lancers.
 
In the fourth set, McMaster kept the pressure up, running out to an early lead for the second set in a row. The Lancers found themselves down big early but fought hard to give themselves a chance. Despite the fight, the Lancers dropped the set and the match, 25-15.
 
UP NEXT
Up next the Lancers play Ryerson in the OUA bronze medal game tomorrow at 5:30pm. Winner of the match will secure the OUA's third berth to the national championships next week in Hamilton. The game can be seen live at oua.tv.