Mac loses in three straight sets

Coming off of a loss against the Ryerson Rams, the Marauders put up a hefty fight against the OUA Leading Gee-Gee’s at Monpetit Hall in Ottawa last Saturday.

The match started out early on in Ottawa’s favor as they took the lead jumping ahead of the Marauders 8-5 after a double block stuffed a left side attack attempt by the Marauders Lauren Skelly. The Gee-Gee’s continued to prevail taking an 8-1 run putting them in the lead with a score of 16-6.

Ottawa’s success continued as the match came to a close with Ottawa once again restoring a 10-point lead jumping ahead of the Marauders 18-8. The Gee-Gee’s would then take advantage of some errors and miscommunication by the Marauders to eventually take the first set with a score of 25-11.

Shannon McRobert took control of the second set early on from the service line with consecutive aces to tie the set at 3-3. Ottawa soon stepped up their game with some steady focus on blocking which put Ottawa back into the lead once again. The hosts gained a hefty lead over the Marauders rolling into the technical timeout with a lead of 16-9.

McMaster showed some strength winning the next four points in a row and shaving down the Ottawa lead. The Marauders began to look threatening late in the second set with an ace coming from Kailee Stock that just found the back line. Despite McMaster’s powerful efforts late in the second, Ottawa out worked and managed to clinch a 25-18 win to take a commanding two-set lead over the Marauder contingent.

The third set proved to be the closest of the previous two as a strong rotation from the Marauders. Lauren Mastroluisi brought the Marauders within two points with a score of 10-8. Ottawa soon capitalized on a string of errors from the Marauders taking four straight points. The Marauders stayed within striking distance and pulled even at 16-16 with some confident plays from the service line.

McMaster gained speed as they took a brief lead over Ottawa but the home side struck another ace bringing the score to a one-point difference at 20-19. The hosts clung to the lead and took advantage to gain some final points against the ladies in Maroon, however a cross-court kill gave McMaster hope bringing the set to a close 24-23 score. McMaster would eventually tie the set at 24-24 giving the Marauders hope to continue on to a fourth set. The teams went back and forth keeping the game at a close score until Ottawa dominated with a final set of consecutive kills winning the set 31-29 and ending the game with a three set sweep.

The Marauders own Kierstyn Bakker was the Marauders leading scorer putting up 11.5 points and nine kills as well as third-year player Kailee Stock showing a sufficiently great performance in the game, converting nine of 26 attempts with only a single error.

The McMaster Women’s Volleyball team will now prep for their upcoming double header weekend at home in Burridge gym as they face The Western Mustangs on Friday and the Windsor Lancers on Saturday.