McMaster hosts Long Beach State in men’s volleyball

The McMaster Marauders men's volleyball team is gearing up for the second half of its OUA season, with the focus on defending its provincial title and victory at the USports championship, which it hosts in March.

So what better way to tune up after the winter break than with a pair of contests against one of the top volleyball programs in North America?

Thursday night, the Marauders hosted Long Beach State University in the North America Challenge, which consists of two exhibition matches at the Burridge gymnasium.

The Marauders lost the opener, a back-and-forth, five-set match, to the squad from California, 17-25, 25-23, 15-25, 25-19 and 12-15.

Outside hitter Sam Cooper led the Mac attack with 16 kills and six aces, with Mateusz Wlodarski adding 10 kills. Setter Robbie Fujisawa had 34 assists, a pair of blocks and nine digs.

The teams are back on the Mac court Saturday at 1 p.m. for the second half of the challenge.

Barry Gray is a Hamilton-based photojournalist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: bgray@thespec.com