The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s volleyball team fell in four sets, 3-1 (25-17, 18-25, 21-25, 22-25), to the visiting McMaster Marauders on Sunday, February 7 at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym. 

With the victory, the No. 5 Marauders remain atop the OUA leader board, while Toronto falls to 8-8 and are in seventh place. 

The Blues were neck in neck with the Marauders throughout the beginning of the first set. Hard-hitters Paul Podstawka (Ancaster, Ont.) and Shawn Bench of Hamilton, Ont. tallied for McMaster, while Blues veteran Steven Kung (Toronto) and sophomore Engineer Mike Manning (Vernon, B.C.) responded for Toronto. 

In the end, the Marauders rallied with the final six-points to take the set 25-17. 

Podstawka started the second game off the same way the first one ended - with two consecutive kills. However, the resilient Blues found their legs and answered right back. Mitchell Woodside (Clyde River, P.E.I.) and Calgary native Deagan McDonald made their presence known and helped open up a six-point advantage. Kung, the OUA’s second leading scorer, sealed the deal with one final kill as the Blues took the second game 25-18. 

In another back and forth battle, the third set was tied eight different times before the Marauders took a clear lead. Jeremy Groenveld (Welland, Ont.) went on the attack for the Marauders and extended their run. 

It looked like McMaster was in complete control, but Toronto’s Manning and Matthew Stefanoff (Unionville, Ont.) helped the Blues charge as they fought back, closing in on the earlier deficit. With victory in sight for the Blues, Mac’s Groenveld re-emerged and took control of the final Marauders points to give the visitors a 25-21 third-set win. 

The final and ultimately the deciding match was the closest. Down seven points (12-19), the Blues turned things around in a big way, starting with a three consecutive points by Manning. The Marauders weren’t willing to go down without a fight either and stopped the late rally as Tyler Stantoni (Kingston, Ont.) wrangled the last few points of the game to give McMaster a 25-22 victory. 

Manning led the Blues with a game-high 20 kills and six digs, while Kung had 12 kills and five digs in the loss. Notably, McDonald was named the Varsity Blues player of the game with 33 assists and eight digs. 

Groenveld and Santoni led the Marauders with 10 and 11 kills, respectively. Mac’s player of the game Podstawka added 11 kills and five digs. 

The men's volleyball is on the road next week and will face the Waterloo Warriors on Friday, February 12th. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. 

For more information, scores and highlights on your favourite Toronto teams, please visit the home of the Varsity Blues at www.varsityblues.ca.