The York University Lions women’s volleyball team faced another tough test Saturday night in the name of the McMaster Marauders.
After losing twice to the Brock Badgers on opening weekend – both in four sets – the Lions were looking for their first win of the season in a match that went down to the wire.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The first set was evenly-matched early, tied 7-7. However, the Marauders scored seven of the next eight points to go up 14-8. That run set the tone for the remainder of the set, which the Marauders took with ease, 25-16.
The second began with McMaster taking a 5-2 lead. However, the Lions rallied to tie it at 5. The set was later tied at 8, 9, 10 and 11, as the teams traded blows. The Lions then went on a 5-1 run to go up 17-13. The Marauders closed the gap once again, eventually getting to within one at 18-17, but the Lions responded, and eventually won the set 25-19, finished off by a Madison Shanks kill.
The third set saw McMaster lead throughout the first 25 points, before the Lions eventually tied it at 13 apiece. York never trailed again thereafter, and took the third set 25-21 to go up 2-1 with two chances to close out their first win of the season.
However, the Marauders didn’t back down. After going down 4-2, they reeled off six of the next seven points to take an 8-5 lead. While the Lions hung around in the middle of the set, McMaster pulled away late and won the fourth by the identical score of the second-set Lions win, 25-19, sending it to a winner-take-all fifth set.
The fifth and deciding set was a seesaw battle, with neither team leading by more than one until York took a 6-4 lead on a Julia Typa kill. However, McMaster tallied the next four points to go from down a pair to up a pair. The hosts eventually rallied to tie things at 11 thanks to a Marauder error. The teams traded scores up to a 14-14 tie, forcing extra points. The Marauders went up 15-14, and then scored the winning point courtesy of an Abby Delamare ace, winning the set 16-14 and the match 3-2.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Lions will now hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to London for a pair of games next weekend against the Western Mustangs. The first game gets going Friday night at 6:00 pm.