Box Score Jumping on a sluggish Nipissing Lakers team early, the Marauders raced to a straight-set sweep in their first match of the weekend on Friday.

Set scores were 25-8, 25-16 and 25-20 for McMaster, who improved to 3-0 on the young season with the victory. Nipissing, meanwhile, falls to 1-2 with the loss.

Veteran right side Jayson McCarthy was nearly unstoppable on Friday, killing 12 of 17 hitting attempts versus just a single error (.647) and adding a game-high three aces and a block assist for 15.5 points. Meanwhile, Stephen Maar on the opposite wing was similarly effective, notching 11 kills, two aces and two solo blocks for 15 points.

McMaster began the night strongly, and built a wide early lead in the opening set when Andrew Richards went on a tear from the service line, using his spin serve to cause chaos with Nipissing's passing. Lakers head coach Eric Yung was desperate to break the Marauders momentum before the hosts could hit the finish line, but could do no such thing, as Mac claimed the opener by a whopping 17-point margin.

The trend continued in set two, as McMaster continued to probe with their pace of play and effectiveness from the line, preventing Nipissing from entering any sort of rhythm. With McCarthy and Maar providing regular attacking options, the Marauders cruised through the set, and won it while hitting .478 as a team.

Staring down a two-set deficit and the distinct possibility of a short night of work, the Lakers did not go quietly on Friday. Nipissing re-entered play in set three with more purpose and organization than fans had seen to that point, and matched McMaster point-for-point for long stretches, trailing by just four at the technical timeout. The visitors drew within a point of the Marauders late on, but ultimately committed too many errors to keep pace.

The Marauders complete their weekend home stand on Saturday, when they welcome the York Lions to the Burridge Gym for a 7:00 p.m. showdown.