An injury-hampered men’s volleyball squad fell twice in straight sets this weekend, sliding to 3-3 after back-to-back road losses.

The Gaels (3-3) started their road trip against the Waterloo Warriors (7-2), losing in three sets 25-21, 25-21 and 25-18.

The team is having injury troubles, with last year’s leading scorer, Mike Tomlinson, out until the holiday break. He’s been participating in practices, but is currently limited to isolation drills.

Head coach Brenda Willis thought her team played a good game in Waterloo, but lacked consistency from start to finish.

Outside hitter Philippe Goyer provided 11 kills and Will Sidgwick tallied four, while libero Ivo Dramov helped on the defensive side with five digs.

The Gaels had 21 errors compared to the Warriors’ 12 .

One day after facing Waterloo, the Gaels were swept by the McMaster Marauders 25-21, 25-12 and 25-23.

The Marauders (6-0) were last year’s champions and are the only team besides Queen’s to win the OUA title since 2006.

Even though the team lost, Willis wasn’t discouraged with the team’s play.

“I thought we played some of our best volleyball this season, but obviously I’m disappointed with the outcome,” she said.

The offensive effort was led by Goyer and Stephen Holmes, with five and six kills respectively.

On the defensive end, Holmes registered five digs, while Matthew Bonshor and Jacob Glantz each contributed four. Scott Brunet stepped up with two solo-blocks.

Willis thought the team bounced back in this game, but said McMaster was more refined than Queen’s.

Despite the loss, she feels the Gaels are still eager.

“There is no sense of pessimism on the team right now,” she said. “We just need to be patient.”

Queen’s benefited from the return of some key players this weekend. Middle blocker Tyler Scheerhoorn is back in the mix but not back in full force, having played in one set of each game, contributing only one dig.

The Gaels are looking ahead to another two road games this weekend in Toronto, the first tonight against the Ryerson Rams (5-3).

“Ryerson is pretty physical. We’re going to work on hitting high and mixing up our shots,” Willis said.

At 3-3, the Gaels aren’t playing up to their potential, she added.

“We have the talent in every position to be top two in the OUA.”

After Ryerson, the men will play Toronto (2-6) tomorrow. Two more home games are scheduled before the winter break, when the team will embark on a tour in Bulgaria.