The York University men's volleyball team were defeated by the McMaster Marauders 3-1 in the OUA quarterfinals on Saturday evening at Burridge Gymnasium in Hamilton, Ont.
 
Despite the Lions being up against the No. 4 nationally-ranked Marauders, they came out of the gates strong and won the first set and made it tough on the Marauders in the final three sets.
 
The Lions were confident entering the game, fresh off two wins in a row last weekend, and had an impressive first set. The start of the set was extremely close for both teams until the Marauders, after an 11-11 tie, earned five points, while the Lions only added one, to enter the mid-set break with a 16-12 lead.
 
The Lions however, were quick to respond, and with the Marauders only adding one point after the break, the Lions tied the game 17-17. The Lions tied the game again late in the set, 20-20, after a huge block by Andrew Tauhid and Andriy Sozanskyy. After the set was tied five more times, it was the Lions who came on top with the final two points earned off a block by Grant Lynch and service ace by Aleksander Grzegorczyk to take the set 27-25.
 
The Lions led the Marauders early into the second set, however after the set was tied 7-7, it was a race for both teams to earn the final point to enter the mid-set break. After three consecutive points, the Marauders had a 15-12 lead, eventually entering the break leading the Lions 16-13. Late in the set, with an 18-18 tie, the Marauders took a two-point lead on the Lions, 20-18. The set was extremely close as the Lions and Marauders each exchanged points, however a Lions service error led the Marauders to take the second set 25-23.
 
The Lions fell short in the third set, as the Marauders picked up a large lead early and entered the mid-set break leading 16-10. With the Lions only adding five more points, the Marauders held onto their strong lead and easily won the set 25-15 picking up an important 2-1 lead.
 
The Lions changed gears in the fourth set and put up a fight, as the two evenly matched teams tied the game a total of eight times. Despite a strong attempt by the Lions, the Marauders pulled away with a 25-19 win and a 3-1 victory.
 
Tyler Covach and Tauhid each had strong games for the Lions, earning 16 points. Covach also picked up six digs, and two blocks, while Tauhid had nine digs, and two blocks. The Marauders were led by Matt Passalent who earned 20 points, and seven digs.
 
With the loss, the Lions have been eliminated from the OUA playoffs, while the Marauders will move onto the OUA Final Four next weekend.