Hamilton, ON- Ellie Hatashita couldn’t hold back the tears. She cried when her last ever university volleyball game came to an end.

The McMaster Marauders fifth-year middle had just ended her career with a win. In front of friends and family at home in the Burridge Gym. Her Marauders women’s volleyball team had just made program history – with a best-ever fifth place finish.

As Hatashita found her teammates, she hugged them and celebrated with them. She thought about her journey. About the program’s journey as well.

She thought of all the highs and lows they’ve been through. All the work they’ve put in. All those who’ve supported them.

Hatashita looked around and saw all those people. The teammates and coaches. The family members and friends. All those in the stands – including the next generation of aspiring athletes. All those emotions and tears from those around her as well.

It hit her. She was overwhelmed with gratitude. She and her teammates came into the day wanting to make program history. They did so.

“That was like something out of a movie,” she said.

Let’s rewind to the start of that movie. Let’s go back two days earlier when the Marauders were entering nationals on home court, preparing to face the defending champion UBC Thunderbirds. Did they know everything that was to come?

They wanted to come into the tournament connected as a team, according to libero Hayley Brookes. It’s something they’ve focused on throughout the season. Their phrase for the week was “As One”, outside hitter Emma McKinnon remembers. They were going to compete all as one – all together.

Brookes knew they needed to keep making eye contact. Keep staying positive. Keep staying together.

The Marauders took to the court in front of a packed Burridge Gym against the Thunderbirds. They made plays and went on runs – winning the second set and leading the third – but ultimately couldn’t keep up as UBC pulled away in four sets.

McMaster head coach Nathan Janzen saw them play really well for long stretches…but they couldn’t sustain it against a UBC side that kept making big digs and big kills.

Outside hitter Sullie Sundara looked around and saw all the support that evening. She felt it as well.

Hatashita felt an overwhelming amount of support as well that evening and throughout the season. That made the loss tough to stomach. She felt like she let some people down. Janzen reassured her that she hadn’t let anyone down.

Now, after knowing they had this quarter-final game all season, they were eliminated from national title contention. Now, Hatashita and her teammates had to move onto the next game.

The Kanata native thought about what current assistant coach – and former long-time head coach – Tim Louks would tell her after losses. Take 45 minutes and that’s it, she recalled. You’ve got to move onto the next one.

As Hatashita thought about that, she knew it might take a little bit longer that evening but that’s what she and her teammates had to do. They still had fifth place to play for. They still had program history to play for.

Let’s let that evening go by. Maybe the pain of defeat goes away a little bit as well. Maybe it doesn’t. Let’s go to the next morning.

Fifth-year libero Christina Stratford – Hatashita’s long-time teammate  – thought about the UBC game for an hour afterwards. She woke up the next morning with a fresh start in her mind.

She went into their morning film session with her focus on their next game – a consolation semi-final against the Brock Badgers. A rematch of the OUA finals which the Marauders lost in four sets.

Stratford knew in the back of her mind they still had a chance to make history. She knew something else though…

She thought of what she and her teammates have talked about. They were at the national championships at home. This is what we’ve dreamed of when we got into this program, she thought. It’s super important to live in that moment and enjoy it.

Stratford kept reminding herself of that throughout the week. She knows it’s her final games. Yes, this isn’t the game they wanted to be playing. However, they’re still playing at nationals. She’s still playing with her teammates. Their journey isn’t over.

In that film session, she heard how her teammates and coaches felt. They talked about how this was one of the hardest games to play in. They talked about wanting to make program history and lay a foundation for years to come.

Assistant coach Larissa Byckalo – who Stratford has become very close with – told them about how she played in a consolation semi-finals back in her McMaster playing career. She told them how hard it was for her to play in. How happy and proud she and her teammates felt after they won.

Janzen told them about the text messages he received from former men’s head coach Dave Preston – who reminded him how much this game matters. How much culture there is to build through it.

Janzen was on the coaching staff with Preston over a decade ago with the men’s program. He knew how, before he arrived, the men’s team had come so close time and time again at nationals – losing in the quarter-finals. Yet, those players kept pushing and kept learning from those experiences until they did break through. Their culture kept building.

Janzen knows they’re in the process of building that with the women’s program. They’re close but not there yet. They’re trying to build something special. They’re trying to do so through their culture. Through moments like the Brock game.

Hearing those words, Stratford felt it. Yes, she’s leaving at the end of the season but she knew the legacy she wanted to leave. To leave the program better than she found it.

Stratford carried that in her heart into the Brock game. So did her teammates. She could feel their energy and intention.

She knew this could be her last game so she wanted to soak in all that energy. She knew she had friends and family in the stands supported her. Some who haven’t been able to make it out to her games before.

She reminded herself to enjoy that support. When the game got going and McMaster kept building their lead, she saw how much fun her teammates were having as well. How free they were playing.

Stratford knows the team plays their best when they’re playing free and not worrying about things. When they’re always smiling.

That afternoon, she saw so many smiles on her teammates’ faces on and off the court.

Setter Chayse Victoria felt the energy as well. She kept smiling and cheering. She was cheering as loud as she could on the bench and then on the court as she became the starting setter. So loud that she lost her voice afterwards.

The players did so by playing for each other as they defeated Brock in three sets. Janzen saw them come into the game knowing what to do. When things got tough, they banded together. They looked each other in the eyes. They all pushed towards one goal. As One. “Our culture was bang on,” he noted.

Stratford also saw how selfless they were. Look at setter Lauryn Colpitts, who was subbed off for Victoria early in the game. She was Victoria’s biggest supporter, according to Stratford. She was always giving her advice.

That’s what being all in meant for her. Something they talked about over the winter break as well. Something they’ve turned into reality. They all had each other’s backs. They were all supporting each other even if things weren’t going the way they wanted to. Bench players came up to her and shared with her what they were seeing on the court.

Stratford also thought about where she was at. Her final game was coming up. She knew it would be weird and super emotional but also super exciting. She thought of all those memories over the past five years.

When she came into the program as a libero to then become their starting setter to back to being a libero. When she found her voice and became the leader she is today. “It’s been a crazy journey for me,” she noted.

Stratford knew the realization of this being the end of her career hasn’t sunk in yet. She figures it probably won’t for a while. Until the day she realizes she doesn’t have practice or a weightlifting session to go to.

Right now? Stratford simply wanted to enjoy the last time she would play with her teammates. She wanted to win as well. She wanted to enjoy the moment – every last minute of it.

Let’s go to the end of Stratford’s final game. Near the end of the movie perhaps. Let’s flash past all their kills and digs against the Saint Mary’s Huskies as they won in four sets. Let’s see the moment Stratford jumps up into the air and celebrates with her teammates after she scored a kill – doing so with her trademark energy. Let’s see them celebrating each point seemingly louder and louder on their way to their best finish in program history in front of their home crowd.

McKinnon knew they were going to leave it all out there. “Breathe fire,” she called it. They all looked each other in the eyes and knew they were going to win. They felt nothing would stop them.

Brookes saw how connected they were over the weekend. They came together as a team through the trials and tribulations. They knew what had to be done. They were supporting each other. She felt how much fun she had over those three days.

McKinnon felt them playing as one. She felt how every point they scored wasn’t just for one person but for everyone who has been or is involved with the program.

That meant their seniors – those currently in between that line of past and present. MacKinnon knew how much it meant to share the court with them in their final game.

There was Colpitts and Jenna Woock. They brought a new perspective of volleyball into the team from their previous experiences with different schools, Brookes pointed out. “Really eye opening and really helpful,” she noted.

There was sixth-year Paige Entwistle, the longest-tenured Marauder. She’s always ready with a quick joke. She’s always there to provide steady comfort for Brookes. She’s McKinnon’s left side buddy who can do crazy shots no one else can.

There was Stratford and her leadership and energy. Always a steady force. McKinnon has learned so much from her. So has Brookes. The two liberos would always share ideas and perspectives.

Then there was Hatashita. The heart and soul of the team, McKinnon calls her. The one holding them together and always showing up.

McKinnon knew they wouldn’t be where they are as a program – celebrating a fifth-place finish at nationals and more than that – if it wasn’t for those seniors. She doesn’t know what it’s like to play without them. She knows how hard it’s going to be to say goodbye to them.

Can you feel the magnitude of the moment as they celebrated their last win of the season? Hatashita could feel all the support and gratitude. She hugged her teammates.

She remembers how fortunate she was to learn from older players in her early years. She felt a lot of pressure this year to be the best she could be for the future generation. For the future of the program. That motivated her in her final season.

Hatashita and her fellow seniors were in the locker room after the game as their teammates told them how much they loved and appreciated them.

They did so with hugs and tears.

Featured Image: Kevin Lassel/McMaster Athletics