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Marauders defeat Huskies in five sets in U SPORTS Consolation Final
Posted: Mar 16, 2025

Marauders defeat Huskies in five sets in U SPORTS Consolation Final

Photos Box Score
Game Leaders
Saint Mary's
K: Emilia Mikanovich - 21
B: Alena Piatukhova - 4
D: Emilia Mikanovich - 18
SA: Grace Blaskovits - 5
McMaster
K: 2 Players (#5, #19) - 13
B: 2 Players (#4, #16) - 3
D: 2 Players (#1, #4) - 15
SA: 3 Players (#5, #16, #20) - 2
Team Stats
Full stats

WINNIPEG, MB – The No. 4 seed McMaster Marauders battled back from a set down in the fourth, coming back to beat the No. 6 seed Saint Mary's Huskies 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 14-25, 25-18, 15-6) in the consolation final of the U SPORTS Women's Volleyball National Championship on Sunday afternoon at Investors Group Athletic Centre in Winnipeg.

There were 17 lead changes in a thrilling contest that featured a combined 154 digs. Seventeen players also recorded a dig, led by 21 from SMU's Emilia Mikanovich.

The Huskies took a 5-1 lead in the first, hitting .571 during that time in a taste of what was to come. Three different players hit at least .375, led by Sydney Fader's four kills and .429 hitting percentage.

McMaster battled back the strength of their defence. They recorded 18 digs as a team, with three different players recording four, while Sullie Sundara had three kills and two aces, as the Marauders cut SMU's lead to one, at 21-20, but SMU wouldn't be denied.

Fader blasted her fourth kill from the right to make it 24-21, and setter Grace Blaskovits, who had seven assists, ended the first with an ace.

There were five lead changes and three ties in a thrilling second set that went Mac's way by two. Entering the third, the two sides combined for 96 digs as both sides refused to let the ball die.

The Huskies led 9-8 and 12-10, as Breanna Golding and Emilia Mikanovich combined for 15 kills, but the Marauders kept pace. Their defence allowed them to win a lot of the longer rallies, including in the final four points with the score tied at 22.

Emma McKinnon was huge down the stretch, with ten digs entering the third, while Hayley Brookes and Olivia Julien also combined for 18 digs. The pair were at their best with Mac up 23-22, as they stood in the pocket and withstood monster smashes from Golding, eventually winning the rally on a McKinnon kill. The Marauders took the set one point later on an error.

A three-point run with the score 13-11 helped blow the third set wide open for SMU. Two errors and Mikanovich's third kill were included in the run, and the Huskies allowed just three more points from there.

Attacking efficiency was the major story. Saint Mary's hit .474 with no errors, while Mac had eight errors and hit just .129.

Fader and Mikanovich combined for an assisted block to help close things out, with Mikanovich winning the set with SMU's ninth ace of the game.

The Marauders opened up an early lead and expanded it to seven multiple times in the fourth, sending the game to five in a 25-17 win. Mac had their most efficient set, hitting .364 with just two errors, while SMU had five errors.

Mac's Angelika Vidmar and Mikanovich for SMU went kill for kill, combining for 32 as the most productive hitters on their side. Vidmar ended the fourth with her 13th kill, hitting .765 overall on 17 attacks.

Mac was once again the more efficient team in the fifth. Their passing on serve-receive allowed setter Chayse Victoria to run an in-system offence quite often, and the Marauders took advantage.

Sundara's back-to-back kills opened up a 4-2 lead to McMaster in the fifth, and a Vidmar ace (ninth of the game for Mac) expanded their lead to three.

The Huskies went on a few mini runs, and dug the ball 76 times overall in the game, but the rallies just didn't go there way when it counted, as they hit in the negatives while Mac hit .462.

Recap by Mike Still / Manitoba Bisons Athletics
 Photos by Dave Mahussier / Manitoba Bisons Athletics