HAMILTON – In their final match of the year, the No. 7 McMaster Marauders used a balanced attack to defeat the No. 8 Saint Mary’s Huskies 3-1 Sunday afternoon in the Consolation Final at the U SPORTS Championship in Burridge. The Marauders, who had four players record seven or more kills, defeated the Huskies 18-25, 26-24, 25-15, 25-15 to end the tournament in fifth, the program’s best ever national finish.
Third-year outside hitter, Sullie Sundara, led the way for the hosts with 13 kills, 13 digs, six service aces and two solo blocks while Olivia Julien, a member of the 2024 U SPORTS All-Rookie Team, contributed 12 kills and six digs of her own. Veteran middles, Ellie Hatashita and Jenna Woock, combined for 17 kills and three solo blocks in their final varsity game. Setters Lauryn Colpitts and Chayse Victoria quarterbacked the McMaster offense with 27 and 12 assists, respectively, to go with 11 digs and one service ace.
Taylor Laugheed led the Huskies with 34 assists and one ace.
Saint Mary’s was the better team early in the set as they took a 10-5 lead. McMaster responded to get within three at 13-10 after a Sundara. The Huskies created further separation to lead 21-15 after a kill by Megan Bruhm and got a set point to go up 1-0 with a 25-18 win. SMU hit .375 in the opening set while the Marauders hit .147.
McMaster came out strong to start the second set to take an early three point lead and force a Saint Mary’s timeout. The Huskies responded with three straight points to tie things up at 5-5 and from there, the two teams exchanged points before SMU took a 21-18 lead. The Marauders battled back and took advantage of back-to-back errors by the Huskies to take the second set 26-24 and even the match at 1-1. McMaster recorded a .167 hitting percentage while holding the Huskies to just .083.
The Marauders dominated the third set, getting out to a quick 2-0 lead. The hosts continued to roll through the middle part of the set and extended their lead to five points, 20-15, after a Jenna Woock kill. Emma McKinnon served the Marauders to set point and sealed it 25-15 with a service ace. McMaster hit a solid .316 while the Huskies hit .069.
McMaster carried its strong play into the fourth set and quickly took a 9-2 lead after Hatashita found the floor with a service ace. Despite Saint Mary’s getting within four, the Marauders never trailed and finished the set 25-15 and the match 3-1.
With the win, the Marauders close out their best ever season performance, finishing 5th in the nation to cap off an incredible 2023-24 season.
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