Box Score The McMaster Marauders pushed the Warriors from the service line and consistently out-passed the black and gold as they won their third straight match at the expense of the Waterloo Warriors on Friday. Waterloo fell in straight sets (25-19, 25-15, 25-19) second from the bottom of the division at 1-5.
Establishing a trend that would continue throughout Friday's match, the Marauders built a critical lead midway through the opening set with an extended service run that put the set virtually beyond reach. It was a recurring theme as McMaster served Waterloo well and pressured their passers in the backcourt, producing 12 reception errors over the course of the night and taking the Warriors out of their attacking system early and often.
The Marauders enjoyed their most efficient set of the match in the first, converting eight of 21 hitting attempts as a team against just three errors (.238). Waterloo reeled off a threatening run to close within striking distance of the Marauders, but after a McMaster timeout was called time to stem the tide, McMaster closed out the first set by a six-point margin 25-19.
While McMaster's hitting percentage dropped slightly in the second, they continued to hold their opponents at bay, as Waterloo managed just seven kills against eight errors on 22 attempts in the set. It was a testament to both McMaster's defence and Waterloo's own inability to find reliable offensive options that the Warriors finished Friday with a negative percentage of -.038. McMaster controlled play throughout the second and ultimately came away with a 25-15 second set victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
It was more of the same in the third set as McMaster came away with the comfortable 25-19 win over Waterloo and cashed in on the sweep 3-0.
The bright spot for Waterloo was
Roselyn Zhang (Toronto) who had 7 kills and 1 dig while
Shannon Lodoen (Waterloo) had 5 kills, 5 digs and 1 service ace in the loss.
Emily Needles (Thorndale) tallied 19 assists and 5 digs in the defeat.
Lauren Mastroluisi stood out in all facets of the match on Friday, leading McMaster and the match with a total of 12.5 points including a whopping seven aces. Fellow outside Joanna Jedrzejewska led the Marauders with nine kills, and also broke into double digits with 11 points.
