The Marauders took down the Warriors in a tight five-set match on Saturday night in Waterloo. They improve their record to 14-4 and finish their weekend with a win.
Sullie Sundara (Kanata, Ont.) led the Marauders with a staggering 23 kills, two service aces and 14 digs. Alongside her, Emma McKinnon (Milton, Ont.) had a great showing with 13 kills and 13 digs. Second year setter Chayse Victoria (Oakville, Ont.) had a career high game with 49 assists and a kill, while libero Hayley Brookes (Burlington, Ont.) was consistent with her athleticism, performing 16 digs.
The first set started with the teams tying back and forth, until Waterloo managed to find a small lead, forcing McMaster to use a timeout early. The Marauders adjusted their play and came back to tie at the 10th point. Sundara led the set with six kills, while Victoria made 13 assists. McMaster was able to find their groove on the Waterloo home court and were able to win the set 25-20.
After losing a competitive first set, Waterloo took the lead early in the second set. McMaster used another early timeout, hoping to generate some offense like they did in the last set. Waterloo continued to have a strong offensive set, making huge kills against McMaster. The Marauders adjusted to these kills by making some huge blocks at the net, specifically from Hatashita, Victoria, and Sundara, which helped them close in on the Waterloo lead. McMaster was able to tie up the game at the 17th point after trailing by two or three-points for most of the set. They carried this momentum through to the end of the set, winning it in a close battle of 25-23.
The Marauders came into the third set strong, hoping to catch the Warriors flat footed. Waterloo fought to stay alive in the game, quickly pushing back against the Marauders’ offense. McMaster trailed behind a small Waterloo lead for most of the set, but three kills each from Sundara, Maddy Lutes (Barrie, Ont.), and Abby Delamere (Toronto, Ont.) helped to keep them in the game. Despite this, Waterloo was able to hit the set point first with a comfortable lead, and ultimately close the set 25-19.
The fourth set was another close match, but Waterloo was able to find a small lead and held onto the point differential. Mid-way through the set, the Marauders struggled with their attack errors as the Warriors carried on their momentum. They made some substitutions late in the set in an attempt to generate some offense, but they weren’t able to close the growing gap as Waterloo won comfortably 25-15.
The fifth set was yet another tight match, with some attack errors from McMaster keeping the set close. Sundara and Hatashita had strong performances with five and four kills respectively, while Lutes made two service aces. Despite struggling with their errors, McMaster was able to edge out the Warriors 15-13 to take the final set and win the game.
Up Next
The Marauders will now look forward to playing the TMU Bold in Toronto on Friday night. They improve their record to 14-4 as they approach the end of their regular season.