The York University Lions men's volleyball team lost its home opener 3-1 to the No. 3 nationally ranked McMaster Marauders on Friday (Oct. 31) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
 
The Marauders won the first set 25-22, the third 25-23 and the fourth 25-14. The Lions were able to take the second set 25-19.
 
The first set was a point-for-point game with only a lead of one alternating from both sides. The Lions broke the even game by advancing four points ahead of the Marauders from kills by Alexander Duncan-Thibault (Scarborough, Ont.) and Arthur Swarcz (Toronto). In the final moment of the set, kills from Jayson McCarthy and Jori Mantha allowed the Marauders to finish with a three-point advantage.
 
Kills by Josh Henderson (Scarborough, Ont.), Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) and Swarcz in the second set pushed the Lions through to defeat the Marauders 25-19, balancing the score at 1-1.
 
The Lions' hopes of defeating the No. 3 team were soon turned when a final kill from Mantha gave the Marauders a two-point advantage in the third set.
 
The Marauders carried that momentum into the fourth set and built a big lead, ultimately winning convincingly to take the match.
 
Henderson played an outstanding game with a total of 17 kills, one ace and two blocks. Other leaders from the Lions' side included Duncan-Thibault with 11 kills, Szeto with nine kills and two blocks and Swarcz with nine kills and two blocks.
 
Leaders from the Marauders included Danny Demyanenko with 16 kills, two aces and six blocks, Brandon Koppers with 12 kills, one ace and two blocks and Mantha with 11 kills and one block.
 
The loss dropped the Lions' record to 1-2 on the year, while the Marauders improved to 4-1 with the win and continued their four-game winning streak.
 
The next game for the Lions is against the Nipissing Lakers on Saturday (Nov. 8) in North Bay, Ont., beginning at 2pm.