With their place in OUA history secured, the Marauders arrive at the U SPORTS Championship tournament on home court Friday, March 16 as the fifth seed, reprising their role from a season ago.

U SPORTS announced the seeds and quarter final matchups for the national championship event Sunday, confirming the Canada West champions, the Trinity Western Spartans, as the top seed for a second consecutive season.

By comparison, the Marauders, who won their record sixth consecutive OUA title Saturday night at Burridge Gym, sit at five and will face the Reseau du sport etudiant du Quebec (RSEQ) champions, the Montreal Carabins at Friday’s quarter final stage.

That match will be the third of the opening day of competition, scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

McMaster was similarly seeded fifth and played their opening match of the tournament against the RSEQ champions a season ago, toughing out a five-set victory over the Laval Rouge et Or and ultimately winning bronze at the tournament in Edmonton.

2018 marks a sixth straight appearance, and 16th all-time, at the national championship for McMaster, who have won five consecutive medals (three bronze, two silver) over that span. The Marauders, and Ontario University Athletics (OUA) as a whole, remain without a Tantramar Trophy as men’s volleyball champions to their name.

The remaining seeds at the eight-team tournament include the no. 2 Alberta Golden Bears, who finished as runners-up in Canada West, the no. 3 UBC Thunderbirds, who won Canada West bronze, the no. 6 UNB Varsity Reds, who won the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) title, the no. 7 Queen’s Gaels who lost out to McMaster in Saturday’s OUA title match, and the no. 8 Windsor Lancers, who claimed OUA bronze to clinch their first-ever appearance at the national championship.

Kicking off the tournament, the Thunderbirds battle the Varsity Reds in Friday’s 1:00 p.m. quarter final, before the Golden Bears take on the Gaels at 3:00 p.m. The top-seeded Trinity Western will open their title defence against Windsor in the day’s final match at 8:00 p.m.

All 11 matches of the three-day U SPORTS Championship can be seen live and on demand with commentary in either English or French on USPORTS.live. A per-day or per-tournament subscription is required.

For more tournament information and to buy tickets, visit usports.ca/mvbchamps.