No. 2 Badgers fall to No. 8 Marauders on Friday night

The Brock Badgers suffered only their second defeat of the season to the host McMaster Marauders in a battle of nationally ranked teams. 

On Friday, Feb. 2, the ten-game winning streak for the Brock Badgers women’s volleyball came to an end in the four-set loss (25-20, 20-25, 18-25, 22-25) in Hamilton. 

Sadie Dick, a third-year right side, delivered a team-high 15 points off 10 kills and five blocks. Third-year outside hitter Emily Foest led the Badgers in kills with 13. Sara Rohr delivered 33 assists and Aleiah Torres notched a game-high 14 digs. 

The Marauders started strong in the first set, taking an 8-5 lead off a service ace. Fighting back, the Badgers tied the score at 13, as Sadie Dick delivered an emphatic block. On the next point, Foest’s impressive seventh kill of the set gave the Badgers the lead, and they did not look back, winning the set 25-20. Foest finished the frame with eight kills on 12 attempts with only two errors for a .500 hitting percentage.  

A 5-0 run from McMaster put the hosts up 6-4, causing Brock to call an early timeout in the second set. Although their deficit got as large as five, the Badgers kept chipping away. The visitors forced McMaster into four straight hitting errors, leading to a tied contest at 14-14. The momentum went back to the home side Marauders who scored a service ace to take a 19-16 advantage, leading to the Badgers’ second timeout. McMaster held on for the 25-20 second set win. 

In the third set, the match remained even, as neither team gained a significant advantage until the Marauders scored six consecutive points to go up 11-5. Strong attacking and serving from the hosts gave the Badgers trouble in the third, and they fell in the set 25-18. 

The Badgers called a timeout early in the fourth set hoping to settle things after going down 8-5. The Marauders immediately scored three straight points, forcing the Badgers to call a second timeout. McMaster’s eight-point lead got whittled down to two at 20-18 after Brock transitioned from a big dig from Torres to a kill from Laurin Ainsworth. The Marauders claimed the fourth set and the match with the 25-22 victory. 

Up next, the Badgers (15-2) take on this same McMaster Marauders team (14-3) in a rematch on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 6 p.m. You can watch the action on OUA.tv.