Marauder Minute (November 2nd – November 8th, 2026)

Marauder Minute (November 2nd – November 8th, 2026)

Hamilton, Ont. – Many Marauder teams saw success this weekend with Men’s Volleyball starting of their regular season on a high taking a pair of wins during their homeopener weekend. Men’s and Women’s Basketball also had strong performances this weekend both taking home the win in both games of their doubleheader weekends. Men’s and Women’s Rowing finished off their season on a high at the Canadian University Rowing Championships. Men’s Lacrosse also finished their season with a loss in the CUFLA Playoff Opener against Western. 

Women’s Volleyball
November 6th – L: 1-3 vs Western | Box Score

The McMaster Women’s Volleyball opened the regular season at home in Burridge Gymnasium against the Western Mustangs in a highly anticipated contest between the USPORTS 8th ranked Mustangs and the 9th ranked Marauders. The first set went back and forth with teams trading points. With the score tied at 16-16, McMaster was able to gain some momentum and slowly pulled away, ultimately taking the set 25-21. Eva Lin (Markham, Ont.) was particularly effective in the first set with 7 kills while veteran athlete Olivia Julien (Toronto, Ont.) displayed strong leadership with 4 kills of her own. A major concern in the set for the Marauders was an injury suffered by 2nd year setter Claire Fan (Oakville, Ont.) who went down in the first set and did not return.  

The second set saw McMaster fall into a 10-4 hole from which they struggled to recover. McMaster closed to within 1 point down 22-21 before Western closed the set out at 25-22 to even the match at 1 set apiece. Seven different Marauders had kills in the second set led by Julien and Omosefe Osaghae (Barrie, Ont.) with 2 each.

The third set proved to be challenging for the Marauders as they got behind early trailing 7-2 and 12-4 and could not recover losing the set by a 25-13 score. Lin led the McMaster attack in the third set with 3 kills.

McMaster stayed close early in the fourth set trailing only 6-5 before an 8-0 Western run extended their lead to 14-5. McMaster struggled to get back into the set and got no closer than 5 points before ultimately falling 25-19 in the set and 3-1 in the match. Julien and Lin each had 3 kills in the final set.

For the match, Lin and Julien led the Marauders with 13 and 10 kills respectively. Lauren Pastor (Toronto, Ont.) and Ella Genge (Vancouver, B.C.) took over the setting duties for the injured Fan and each had 11 assists. On the defensive side, Lin had 3 blocks and four other Marauders contributed 2 each including Osaghae, Victoria Potvin (Ottawa, Ont.), Angelika Vidmar (Etobicoke, Ont.), and Keira Elliott (Aurora, Ont.). Lin had 14 digs and 3 other players had 10 each including Julien, Potvin, and libero Jennifer Wu (Burlington, Ont.).

Next up, the Marauders take on the University of Windsor Lancers at the Toldo Lancer Centre in Windsor on Friday, November 13 at 6:00pm followed by a second match against the Lancers on Saturday, November 14 at 1:00pm. 

November 8th – L: 2-3 vs Western | Box Score

The McMaster Marauders women’s volleyball team battled through five competitive sets Sunday afternoon at Burridge Gymnasium but ultimately fell 3-2 (20-25, 27-25, 25-16, 22-25, 15-17) to the Western Mustangs.

After dropping the opening set 25-20, McMaster responded with an impressive comeback in the second. Trailing 16-8, the Marauders rallied to even the score before securing a dramatic 27-25 victory.

McMaster carried that momentum into the third set, delivering its strongest offensive performance of the afternoon. The Marauders recorded 14 kills while hitting .314, claiming a convincing 25-16 win to take a 2-1 advantage.

Western answered in the fourth, overcoming a late McMaster push to secure a 25-22 victory and force a deciding fifth set.

The final frame delivered another thrilling finish. Trailing 12-8, McMaster fought back to take a 14-13 lead before Western responded with a late surge to claim the set 17-15.

Natalie Wahlgren (Burlington, Ont.) led the Marauders offensively with 20 kills, 12 digs and two service aces, finishing with a team-high 24 points.

Olivia Julien (Toronto, Ont.) added 14 kills and 14 digs, while Eva Lin (Markham, Ont.) contributed 11 kills and 14 digs. Setter Ella Genge (Burnaby, B.C.) directed McMaster’s offense with 34 assists.

Men’s Volleyball
November 6th – W: 3-0 vs Western | Box Score

Your Marauder Men’s Volleyball Team started off the season at home with a win against the Western Mustangs. McMaster raced out to an early 7-1 lead. Western closed the gap to 10-9 before McMaster went on a 15-5 run to close the first set at 25-14. Second year outside hitter, Mekhi Fitzgerald (Milton, Ont.) was a dominant force throughout and led the Marauders in kills in each of the three sets and ended up with a total of 15 for the match. Olivier Tremblay (Sudbury, Ont.) and Kaden Zunti (Burlington, Ont.) each added 2 kills in the first set.

The second set saw the Mustangs get out to the early lead at 5-2 but the Marauders immediately responded, levelling the score at 5-5. Another run by Western put the visitors up 10-6. They held the lead through to 14-10 before McMaster started to gain some momentum tying the score at 15 apiece before both teams traded points to 21-21. From there, the Marauders took over scoring the final four points to take the second set by a 25-21 margin. Fitzgerald was key to the final run with 2 kills. Fitzgerald led the Marauders with a total of 5 kills in the second set and Tremblay contributed 3 of his own.

The third set stayed close early to a 10-10 score before a 6-2 Marauder run put the home side up 16-12. The Marauders held the lead throughout the balance of the set winning the set 25-21 and the match by a 3-0 score. Fitzgerald had 4 kills in the final set and Tremblay and Jared Kuiken (London, Ont.) had 2 kills apiece.

In addition to 15 kills from Fitzgerald, Tremblay had 7 kills and Zunti added 4 more. Ronan Huth (Edmonton, Alta.) handled the setting duties for McMaster and had 26 assists. McMaster’s blocking was effective with Kuiken registering 7 blocks (2 solo) and Fitzgerald adding 6 blocks (1 solo). Aleksa Rakic (Mississauga, Ont.) paced the Marauders with 9 digs while two other Marauders, Tremblay and Josiah Heidbuurt (Stoney Creek, Ont.), added 8 digs apiece.

The Marauders will look to continue their winning ways when they travel to Windsor next weekend for two games against the University of Windsor Lancers on Friday, November 13 at 7:30pm followed by a second match against the Lancers on Saturday, November 14 at 2:30pm.

November 8th – W: 3-0 vs Western | Box Score

The McMaster Marauders men’s volleyball team continued its strong start to the 2026-27 OUA season on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Western Mustangs in straight sets (25-20, 29-27, 25-21) at Burridge Gymnasium.

With the victory, McMaster improved to 2-0 on the season, completing a weekend sweep of Western.

Mekhi Fitzgerald (Milton, Ont.) led the Marauders offensively with a match-high 15 kills and nine digs, while Olivier Tremblay (Sudbury, Ont.) added 11 kills and nine digs. Jared Kuiken (London, Ont.) delivered an efficient performance, recording 10 kills on 17 attempts without an attacking error, finishing with a .588 hitting percentage.

Setter Ronan Huth (Edmonton, Alta.) orchestrated McMaster’s offence with 41 assists, helping the Marauders finish with 45 kills and a .288 team hitting percentage.

McMaster established control early in the opening set, building an 11-5 advantage before holding off Western’s attempts to close the gap. The Marauders maintained their lead throughout the frame, securing a 25-20 victory.

The second set proved to be the most competitive, featuring several lead changes and extended rallies. With the score tied at 27, McMaster capitalized on a Western attacking error before Fitzgerald delivered the decisive kill to secure a 29-27 victory.

In the third set, the Marauders built an 18-13 advantage before Western narrowed the deficit. McMaster responded late, with a block from Kuiken and Huth sealing the 25-21 win.

The Marauders finished with 53 digs and six assisted blocks, completing an impressive straight-set performance on home court.

Women’s Basketball
November 6th – W: 88-38 vs Laurier University | Box Score

The Marauders women’s basketball team travelled to Kitchener on Friday night to face the Golden Hawks of Laurier University. The home town Laurier women got off to a fast start jumping out to a 6-0 lead before a couple of free throws by Teja McCormick (Toronto, Ont.) got the visitors going. The rest of the quarter was dominated by the Marauders who went on a 20-2 run to take a 20-8 lead. The Marauders were paced by Emily Frankovic (Thornhill, Ont.) with 8 points with McCormick adding 6 more. Izzy Moro (Hamilton, Ont.), with 3 steals, and Nikolina Rupcich (Oakville, Ont.), with 2 blocks, keyed the defense.

The second quarter was more of the same from the McMaster women as they outscored Laurier 23-9 in the quarter to push their lead to 26 (43-17) at the halftime break. Tayler Scott (Burlington, Ont.) led McMaster in the second quarter with 10 points while Keira Daly (Hamilton, Ont.) added 5 more. Frankovic had 3 blocks and the McMaster defense forced the Laurier team into 11 turnovers in the quarter.

The Marauders had an offensive explosion in the third quarter outscoring the Golden Hawks by a 31-16 margin. Daly, with 15 points, almost outscored the entire Laurier team and she added 3 steals. Grace Ammendolia (Hamilton, Ont.) also contributed with 6 points in the quarter.

The fourth quarter turned into more of a defensive contest with McMaster holding Laurier to just 5 points while scoring 14 of their own to end the contest at 88-38 in favour of the visiting Marauders. Frankovic and Ammendolia each had 4 points in the quarter.

For the game, Daly led the Marauders with 20 points, while three others scored in double figures. Scott had 17 points, Frankovic 14 points, and Ammendolia with 10. McCormick and Scott were effective on the boards with 9 rebounds apiece. McMaster had a total of 24 steals in the game including 6 by Daly and 4 each by Moro and Carly McBain (Guelph, Ont.).

The Marauder women faced the Brock Badgers at home on Saturday night.

November 7th – W: 82-67 vs Brock | Box Score

The Marauders women’s team was looking to continue their already successful early regular season and were trying to push their record to 4-1 when they faced the Brock Badgers at home in Burridge Gymnasium on Saturday night.

Opening the scoring for McMaster was fourth year veteran Sophia Urosevic (Kitchener, Ont.) and buckets by Teja McCormick (Toronto, Ont.) and Nikolina Rupcich (Oakville, Ont.) saw McMaster jump out to an early 6-0 lead. The rest of the quarter was back and forth with McMaster taking an 18-14 lead at the end of the first quarter. Urosevic led the Marauders in the first quarter with 7 points.

An early bucket by Brock brought them to within 2 points before the Marauders went on an 8-0 run to take a 26-16 lead. The run was keyed by four points from Keira Daly (Hamilton, Ont.). The Marauders maintained the lead through the rest of the quarter and went into the halftime break up by 8 points at 37-29. Daly with 6 points and Tayler Scott (Burlington, Ont.) with 5 were key contributors for McMaster. The Marauders spread the scoring around with 4 other players including Urosevic, McCormick, Carly McBain (Guelph, Ont.), and Emily Frankovic (Thornhill, Ont.) all chipping in with 2 points each.

Brock closed the lead to 6 points early in the quarter before a 9-0 McMaster run extended the lead for the Marauders to 46-31 with veterans Frankovic, Urosevic, and Grace Ammendolia (Hamilton, Ont.) providing the scoring. The Marauders led by double digits for much of the rest of the third quarter before some late pressure from Brock and a 6-0 run closed the gap to just 7 points at 58-51 for the home team.

Another 4-0 run from Brock to open the fourth quarter put the final result in doubt as Brock trailed only 58-55. Five straight points from Daly pushed McMaster lead back to 8 points before the Marauders slowly pulled away through the rest of the quarter with the final score being 82-67 for McMaster. Daly had 11 points in the quarter while Scott added 8 and Urosevic contributed 5 points to account for all of the fourth quarter scoring for the Marauders. Daly also had 3 steals in the quarter.

For the game, McMaster was paced by Scott with 21 points while Daly and Urosevic had 18 points each. Scott also led the Marauders with 8 rebounds and 3 blocks for an excellent all around game. McMaster was effective in handling the ball as they committed only 9 turnovers in the game. A key differentiator in the game was points in the paint where the Marauders held a 34-16 edge on the Badgers.

The Marauders women’s team heads to Thunder Bay next weekend for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday night (November 13 and 14) against Lakehead University at CJ Sanders Fieldhouse. Gametime on both nights is 6:00 pm.

Men’s Basketball
November 6th – W: 83-77 vs Laurier University | Box Score

The McMaster men’s basketball team was in action on Friday night facing the Laurier Golden Hawks in Kitchener. McMaster jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on baskets by Shakir Yakubu (Brampton, Ont.) and Elijah Bethune (Toronto, Ont.). McMaster continued their hot start leading 10-4 before Laurier went on a 13-0 run to take a 17-10 lead. Another 6-0 run by Laurier to end the quarter saw the visiting Marauders trail by a 25-15 margin at the end of the first quarter. The Marauders were led by Yakubu with 4 points through the first 10 minutes.

The second quarter went back and forth and saw both teams struggle to score. At halftime, McMaster continued to trail by 10 points with the score at 38-28. Bethune had 4 points in the quarter and Jack McMahan (Burlington, Ont.) added 3 points.

The Marauders came back from the halftime break with renewed energy. They started the quarter on a 13-0 run to turn a 10 point deficit into a 3 point lead at 41-38. Kailon Nicholls (Toronto, Ont.) had 7 points during the run including 5 for 5 from the free throw line and James Kelly (Burlington, Ont.) added 4 points with a layup and a dunk. By the end of the quarter, the Marauders had outscored Laurier 31-15 and were leading by 6 going into the final quarter. Nicholls with 10 and Kelly with 8 paced the Marauders in scoring while Riaz Saliu (Oshawa, Ont.) was effective on the glass with 5 rebounds, 4 of them on the offensive end.

In the final quarter, McMaster pushed their lead as high as 11 on two occasions but a 10-1 run in the middle of the quarter cut the Marauder lead to just 1 point at 72-71 with 3:10 left. With only 50 seconds left, Laurier got within 1 point again before a massive three pointer by Yakubu with only 32 seconds left pushed the lead back to 4 at 81-77. Laurier missed a couple of 3 pointers down the stretch and McMaster escaped with a well-deserved 83-77 victory.

The Marauders were led by 4 players in double figures including Nicholls with 17, Bethune 13, Yakubu with 12 and Kelly with 13 off the bench. Saliu had 10 boards and Bethune added 4 steals.

The Marauder men headed home on Saturday night to host the Brock Badgers in Burridge Gym.

November 7th – W: 78-65 vs Brock | Box Score

Coming off an excellent win against the Laurier Golden Hawks the night before where the Marauders came back from 10 points down at halftime, the Marauders put up another effort on Saturday night facing the Brock Badgers.

Shakir Yakubu (Brampton, Ont.) put up the opening bucket for the Marauders to tie the game early in the first period 2-2. The Badgers quickly put the pressure on the home side putting  5 more points on the board bringing the score to 7-2. A three pointer from Elijah Bethune (Toronto, Ont.) and a bucket from Kailon Nicholls (Toronto, Ont.) responded quickly to this challenge and brought McMaster back to level at 7-7. Brock led by as much as 6 in the quarter but McMaster responded each time. Jack McMahan (Burlington, Ont.) hit a three pointer to put McMaster back into the lead at 18-16 before the quarter ended with the Badgers leading 19-18. Bethune with 6 and Nicholls with 5 paced McMaster in scoring through the first 10 minutes.

The second quarter opened with a successful free throw for Riaz Saliu (Oshawa, Ont.) to tie the game 19-19. An impressive steal and dunk from Nicholls brought McMaster into the lead early in the quarter. After Brock fought back into the lead, another resounding dunk from Nicholls saw McMaster back on top 23-22. The second quarter remained tight with neither team leading by more than 4 points and the halftime buzzer sounded with McMaster on top by 1 point leading 35-34. Isaiah Flores (Whitby, Ont.) led McMaster in scoring in the second quarter with 6 points.

Much as they had done the previous night against Laurier, the third quarter turned out to be a difference maker for the Marauders. Nicholls came out absolutely on fire hitting 4 threes in the first 2:45 of the third quarter to push McMaster’s lead to 49-40. An 8-0 run by McMaster followed and the lead grew to 17 at 57-40 before Brock responded with 2 late threes of their own to end the quarter at 57-46 in favour of McMaster. Nicholls was the third quarter hero with the 12 points and Oliver Lucas (Toronto, Ont.) and Jacyn Taylor (Pickering, Ont.) chipped in with 4 points apiece. The Marauders did not commit a turnover in the quarter.

The Marauders cruised through the fourth quarter as the Badgers got no closer than 9 points and the final score was 78-65 for the hometown team. Riley Bleich (Fonthill, Ont.) led McMaster with 6 points in the fourth quarter hitting 2 three pointers. For the game, Nicholls paced the Marauders with 24 points. Bethune added 15 points and Flores and Bleich were keys off the bench chipping in with 8 and 7 points. Saliu once again lead the Marauders with 9 rebounds. A key factor in the game were points in the paint where McMaster had a 32-16 edge on the visiting Badgers.

Next up for the McMaster men’s basketball team is a trip west to Thunder Bay to face Lakehead University at CJ Sanders Fieldhouse on Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th. Both games have an 8:00 pm tip-off time.

Men’s and Women’s Rowing
November 6th to 8th – Canadian University Rowing Championship

The McMaster men’s and women’s rowing teams were back on the water this past weekend for the Canadian University Rowing Championships (CURC) hosted by Western University at the Doug Wells Rowing Centre on Fanshawe Lake in London, Ontario. McMaster was represented by seven entries from the team. Preliminaries took place on Saturday with the Finals on Sunday.

Elizabeth Rudkovsky, a fifth year senior, started off for the Marauders with a 12th place showing in the preliminaries of the women’s single sculls qualifying for the B Final where she placed 6th. Next up for McMaster were the men’s pair of Connor Kelly and Shane Brooks, who wound up with a 4th place finish in the C Final.

The women’s eights crew with team members Macy Mullen, Lillian Bleecker, Hailey Lay, Brooke Chow, Elizabeth Warner, Caitlyn Horton, Hayden Taylor, Olivia Richardson, and Alexis Reeder (cox) were 10th in the preliminaries and wound up with a 4th place finish in the B Final. One of the true veterans of the team, Frank Feng, was next up in the men’s single sculls. A 15th place finish in the preliminaries placed him in the C Final where he came out on top by almost 11 seconds.

After already competing earlier in the day with the women’s eights, Caitlyn Horton teamed up with Naomi Mazurek in the women’s lightweight pairs. It was a successful outing for the pair as they placed 7th in the preliminaries. They just missed a victory in the B Final ending up in 2nd place after being edged by a duo from Nipissing by 0.81 seconds. The women’s pair of Macy Mullen and Naomi Mazurek, who also participated with Horton in the women’s eights were eighth in the preliminaries which placed them in the B Final where they had an outstanding performance to win the B final by 7 seconds.

The final performers for McMaster were the men’s eights with crew members Connor Kelly, Miles French, Shane Brooks, Frank Feng, Jackson Miller, Mwai M’Mbijjewe, Luka Mahrt-Smith, Henry Spratt, and Molly Hazel (cox). The preliminaries placed the Marauders in the B Final where they rowed to a 3rd place finish.

The Canadian Championships winds up the season for the McMaster rowers. A shout out to all of the team members, coaches, and support staff on an excellent season. Looking forward to welcoming many of the team members back next year for another season of hard work on the water.

Men’s Lacrosse
November 6th – L: 3-9 at Western (CUFLA Playoff Opener)

The Marauders saw their 2026 CUFLA campaign come to an end on Friday night, falling 9-3 to the Western Mustangs in their playoff matchup at Mustangs Field in London, Ontario.

McMaster faced an early challenge, trailing 3-0 after the opening quarter before looking to find its footing offensively. The Marauders continued to battle through the second quarter, but were unable to break through, entering halftime down 7-0. Coming out of the break, McMaster found its offensive spark when Lincoln Gear (Mono, Ont.) scored off an assist from Preston Gear (Orangeville, Ont.), putting the Marauders on the board and providing some momentum heading into the final quarter.

The Marauders carried that offensive push into the fourth, adding two more goals to their total. Brennan Mee (Burlington, Ont.) found the back of the net off a feed from Lincoln Gear before Ryan Bellamy (Toronto, Ont.) added a goal of his own, giving McMaster three goals in the final two quarters. Despite the late effort, the Marauders were unable to complete the comeback as the contest came to a close.

Lincoln Gear led McMaster offensively with a goal and an assist, while Brennan Mee and Ryan Bellamy each contributed a goal. Preston Gear added an assist, and goaltender Neel Cargill (Toronto, Ont.) played the full 60 minutes between the pipes. McMaster finished the contest with 14 shots on goal, including nine in the second half, as the team continued to generate offensive opportunities down the stretch.

With their 2026 season now complete, the Marauders will turn their attention toward the offseason, looking to build on this years’ experience and carry that momentum into next season.

Upcoming Events (Nov 9 – Nov 15)

November 13
6:00pm: Women’s Volleyball at Windsor
6:00pm: Women’s Basketball at Lakehead
7:30pm: Men’s Volleyball at Windsor
8:00pm: Men’s Basketball at Lakehead

November 14
1:00pm: Women’s Volleyball at Windsor
2:30pm: Men’s Volleyball at Windsor
6:00pm: Women’s Basketball at Lakehead
8:00pm: Men’s Basketball at Lakehead
Wrestling vs York University
Cross Country at U Sports Championships
Curling at Guelph Invitational

November 15
Curling at Guelph Invitational