Lauren Mastroluisi broke out in a big way on Friday, as the Marauders emerged from the Burridge Gym with an impressive win.

The fourth-year outside hitter posted a game high of 21 points and McMaster defeated the York Lions 3-1 (25-20, 27-25, 23-25, 25-19) for their sixth consecutive OUA win. The Marauders moved to 11-3 on the season with the victory, as they remain four games clear of the Guelph Gryphons atop the OUA West standings.

Mastroluisi had a career night on Friday, converting 19 of 36 hitting attempts versus just three errors (.444) and adding an ace and a block. Joanna Jedrzejewska and Taylor Brisebois also reached double digits on the night, posting 15.5 and 13.5 points respectively. Carly Heath was a defensive stalwart, racking up 15 digs over the course of the four-set match.

There was very little to separate the two teams on Friday, but a series of problems in service reception hurt the Lions in the opening set, as the Marauders proved to be the steadier of the two teams at the stripe. True to form, York relied heavily on the middle duo of veterans Michelle Pierce and Brittney Hopley to drive their offence, and while the two did their share of damage, the Marauders effectively held the Lions outside hitters at bay.

Playing a cleaner game than their opponents, the Marauders won the first set fairly convincingly. But the visitors showed no signs of going away in the second, and the two sides battled point-for-point as the set progressed. Both teams improved their offensive efficiency in the second, but McMaster's front-court defence struck time and time again, led chiefly by Brisebois, who claimed 7.5 blocks by the end of the match.

McMaster came away with a razor-thin decision in the second, while York returned the favour by surviving a late scare in the third to force the match into a bonus fourth set. There, the Marauders firmly put their feet down, and outpaced the Lions from the get-go. McMaster's offence reached its peak on the night, converting on 12 of 21 hitting attempts versus just two errors in the frame, as the Marauders pulled away for a six-point victory.

It was an important victory for McMaster, the first of the season against the powerhouse OUA East division, coming against a York team that is once again beginning to find its feet after a rough patch in November.

The Marauders will look to chase it with another victory in two days' time, when they host the Nipissing Lakers at the Burridge Gym on Sunday. That match will get underway at 1:00 p.m. and will be broadcast live on Cogeco Cable 14 and OUA.tv.