The Marauders swept the Lancers with a confident three set win in their home gym on Wednesday afternoon. This closes out the Marauders’ last regular season game as they look forward to the post-season.
This was the first of two pride games held by McMaster. The next pride games will be on Friday, Mar. 4th as the Women’s and Men’s basketball teams face off against the Waterloo Warriors.
6’2″ middle hitter Ellie Hatashita had a career-high record game, with a shocking six service aces, nine digs, ten blocks, and one assist. This led her to be the second highest point scorer, with 10.5 points in the game. In their first years of eligibility, Sullie Sundara and Emma McKinnon were the top two to watch for the Marauders in kills, putting up 15 and nine respectively. 5th year Jessie Nairn had a strong performance, with six kills and 10.5 points.
Marauders opened the score with the first five points, bringing Windsor to use a timeout. Reliable as always, Sundara came in with five big kills in the set plus a service ace. The Marauders were confident and composed, making quick work of the first set. The team capitalized on four consecutive attack errors from the Lancers, while Hatashita picked up three big service aces. The Marauders took a dominant lead in the first set to result in a score of 25-6.
In the second set, the Lancers put up a fight at the start of the set, leading to some back-and-forth rallies from the teams. Regardless, the Marauders took the lead and Hatashita wreaked havoc for the Lancers with three more service aces. Christina Stratford provided some key support with eight assists, along with some big digs from Hayley Brookes. The Marauders definitively came out on top with a 25-8 score.
In the third set, the Marauders continued to lead with confidence. They came up with three more service aces, leading them to an astounding total of 11 in the game. Nairn put up four kills and a service ace, looking strong alongside her teammates. The Marauders undeniably won the set to close out the game, with a score of 25-14.
The Marauders sweep their final game of the regular season as they look towards their post-season. They finish the regular season ranked second in the OUA West Division with a record of 8-4. Their first playoff game will be on Saturday, Mar. 12th in their home gym against the Western Mustangs.