Western falls to McMaster in straight sets for first loss of the season

Hamilton, ON – After an undefeated first half of the season, the Women’s Volleyball team lost their 2022 opener away to McMaster in 3 straight sets.

Having not played a game since late November, Western continued right where they left off by winning the first point of the game off of a Claire Stewart serve.

McMaster would take the next two with some big blocks and would eventually double up on the Mustangs 6-3. Western would drop the next three points to go down 10-4, calling a timeout along the way.

The purple and white then rallied behind captain Kate Van Camp’s serve to get three consecutive points of their own, closing the gap the hosts had set to 10-7.

McMaster’s defence proved to be too hard to crack in the first set, as Western were unable to climb back into it, ultimately dropping their first set of the season 25-16.

The Marauder’s momentum from the first set carried into the second as they claimed an early 2-0 lead in front of an excited home crowd.

Western would not give up however and began to climb back into the match, as the two teams exchanged points for a 7-6 McMaster lead thanks to three straight points from Skylar Johnston.

Western would take their first lead of the game at 8-7 courtesy of middle Claire Stewart, and their fifth straight point won. They would continue their streak for 3 more points, leaving the hosts on a search for answers.

With the score reading 18-11, the Mustangs would be credited for 15 of the last 19 points, proving to be a new-look team since the first.

The purple and white weren’t fully in the clear however, with McMaster eventually reducing their deficit to one, at 20-19 with five consecutive point wins. They would also fend off five Western set points to tie it up at 26.

Western couldn’t close out the set as McMaster would eventually find the comeback winner to steal the second set 29-27.

An exchange of service errors would start the third set, before a Lauren Pastor ace claimed an early 2-1 purple and white lead.

With Western in unfamiliar territory fighting to stay in the match, the teams engaged in a back-and-forth contest for the first half of the set, with the score reading 16-15 for the hosts at the technical timeout.

Despite their efforts, the Mustangs would drop the set 25-23, ultimately losing their first match of the season. Western now drops to 5-1 on the season, whereas McMaster improves to 4-2 as the race for the playoffs heats up.

The Mustangs will look to rebound against the Marauders this Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall at 2pm.