Box Score Notching a signature win to kick off their weekend home stand, the Marauders wrote a triumphant new chapter in a long and heated rivalry Saturday.

McMaster dealt the U Sports no. 5-ranked Western Mustangs their first loss of the season, battling past them in four sets (25-17, 28-26, 23-25, 25-19) at the Burridge Gym.

The result improved Mac to 8-2 in conference play, while Western dropped to 9-1 with the loss.

Paced by a pair of outside hitters, Aleks Arsovic and Joanna Jedrzejewska led the Marauders with matching totals of 15.5 points. Arsovic had 13 kills, a block and a half and an ace to reach her tally, while Jedrzejewska notched 12 kills, three aces and a block assist.

Veteran libero led the Marauders, and the match, with 20 digs over the course of the afternoon's four sets.

In the first set, the Marauders beat the Mustangs out of the gate. Arsovic lead the charge as McMaster reached the technical timeout holding onto a 16-8 lead over Western. With Western hot on their heals, Mac was able to fend off the Mustangs late-set surge, winning the first set 25-17.

Western carried their late momentum from the first set to get ahead early in the second set, leading the Marauders to take an unwanted but necessary timeout. The Marauders leaned on the strong backcourt play of Jedrzejewska in an effort to get back into contention. Western took their second timeout as they looked for answers to Mac's 20-15 lead. It turned out to be a good decision by the Mustangs. After a four-point surge by the purple and white, McMaster would take a timeout of their own. The two teams traded points as each tried to close out the second set, with Mac eventually taking the second set 28-26, after an entertaining final few points.

Despite McMaster's 2-0 lead, the see-saw distribution of points would continue throughout the third set, which saw Western taking it 25-23 to force a fourth.

In the fourth set, the Mustangs continued to show their ability to close the gap that the Marauders were able to create. Mac would more than double the Mustangs in points, as they entered the technical timeout with a 16-7 lead. The Marauders eventually won the set, and the match, with a 25-19 margin in the fourth.

The Marauders will be back at Burridge Gym tomorrow when they play host to the Windsor Lancers at 1 p.m.