Marauders wrap up 2024-2025 season in Waterloo

WATERLOO, Ont. — The McMaster Marauders (8-10) ended their regular season this weekend with a doubleheader against the Waterloo Warriors (6-12). 

In game one on Friday, Maxime Gratton (Ottawa, Ont.) wasted no time stepping up for the Marauders on both offense and defense. Gratton also added a service ace mid way through to put the Marauders up by three. To finish off set one, Jared Kuiken (London, Ont.) made a pair of service aces to close out the first set 25-21 for the Marauders. Kaden Zunti (Burlington, Ont.) came alive in set two with a few massive kills early in the set. Then Gratton would hit back to back kills to cut the Warrior lead to six. Waterloo continued the offensive pressure to take set two 25-14. McMaster found themselves down early in set three but would rally back to get within four points thanks to some strong hitting and a service ace from Seth O’Brien (Kingston, Ont.). The Marauders would drop set three, 25-21 to Waterloo. Gratton and Zunti would lead the Marauder offense in set four to keep the score tight early on. The Marauders would bring the score back within one late in the set but Waterloo would end up winning it 25-20, and take the first game 3-1. Gratton would end the night with 14 kills. 

On Saturday, the Marauders took the lead early in the first set but the Warriors would rally back to get within two. The Marauders continued to roll on offense with Gratton finishing off the set with two kills to take it 25-23. Cole Francis (Ottawa, Ont.) strung together a few strong kills midway through set two. Then Ashton Fox-Kristensen (Elora, Ont.) hit a service ace to put the Marauders up by four. McMaster would take set two 25-21 and start off game two winning the first two sets. In set three, the score would stay close but late in the set Waterloo put together a run to take the third set 25-21. McMaster got off to a quick start in set four thanks in part to a few kills from Kuiken. Gratton tied the game up at 12 with a kill and the Marauders would grab a few late points but the Warriors ended up taking the fourth set 25-20. In the second match up versus Waterloo, the Marauders would head to a fifth and final set. Despite the quick start to the second match up, the Marauders would fall 15-13 in the final set. McMaster will finish the 2024-2025 season at 8-12.