The Waterloo Warriors women's volleyball team might have had their five-match winning streak snapped on Friday night against the Brock Badgers, but a day later, they used a valiant effort to snap their losing streak at one.

The Warriors bounced back from their first defeat of the 2020 calendar year with a 3-1 (22-25, 29-27, 25-23, 25-21) victory over the McMaster Marauders on Saturday evening at the Physical Activities Complex.

After dropping the first set, the Warriors fended off three set points in the dramatic second, evening the match and seizing momentum. To call it a see-saw match doesn't do the two teams justice – the largest lead by either team was a meager five points in the early stages of the fourth set, as the two clubs traded dozens of leads throughout the night.

Sarah Glynn (Fredericton/) led all players with an explosive 20 kills, while Claire Gagne (Cambridge/) came up with a team-leading 16 digs and 41 assists. Mackenzie Vallee (Waterdown/) added 12 kills (and a sparkling .333 hit%) for the Warriors, who move to 9-5 on the season.

The McMaster attack was led by Jessie Narin and Hailey Kranics, who registered 19 and 17 kills, respectively. Rebecca Maxwell added 19 digs and Kamila Hasse put up a match-high 5 blocks for the Marauders, who saw their record fall to an even 8-8.

The back-and-forth first set went to McMaster, who were looking to avenge a tight five-set defeat at the hands of the Guelph Gryphons the night prior. The Marauders carried the momentum for the bulk of the second set as well – after Waterloo claimed the first point of the set, they didn't lead again until a Gagne ace made it 19-18 for the Warriors. The wild second then went back and forth, as the Warriors fought off three match points (while McMaster defended one of their own), before a Vallee kill gave Waterloo a 29-27 decision.

The big-game experience of the hosts then seemed to take hold, as Waterloo constantly pushed back on the Marauders every time the visitors made a run. Trailing 22-19 in the third set, the Warriors rattled off four straight points and eventually claimed a 25-23 decision, and they led by as much as five points early in the fourth.

But it was McMaster's turn to fight back, erasing a pair of deficits in the fourth with some staunch defense and some attacking errors from the Warriors. But again, the late-set surge by Waterloo separated themselves from their opponents, as a Caitlyn Drury (Innisfil/) ace ended the match in favour of the hosts.

The Warriors will now head on a Kingston road trip for a pair of matches next weekend, when they'll take on the Queen's Gaels and RMC Paladins.