With their young players taking centre stage against an old rival, the Marauders ground out a vital win at Burridge Gym Friday.

McMaster dealt the Toronto Varsity Blues their second loss of the season, improving to 6-1 with a four-set triumph (25-16, 25-19, 10-25, 25-20) to close the Fall schedule ahead of the holiday break.

Rookie setter Rebecca Maxwell (Cambridge, ON) earned her first start as a Marauder Friday, while fellow rookies Maddie Lethbridge (London, ON) and Brenna Peacock (Burlington, ON) opened the match on the left side and through the middle respectively.

Maxwell posted 27 assists in the win, splitting the majority of her distribution between veteran outsides Rachel Woock (Richmond Hill, ON) and Jill Eisenhauer (Toronto, ON), who had 10 and nine kills respectively.

While they were far from their best offensively in the win, the Marauders did crucial damage from the service line, with 12 aces versus four service errors. Maxwell was the most effective of all, knocking down five aces with just one error.

2017 OUA East Player of the Year Alina Dormann was typically effective on the outside, leading the match with 16 kills and 20.5 points for the Blues in a losing effort.

NEXT UP: The Marauders head to Toronto for a holiday tournament over the December break, before resuming conference play at Burridge Gym on Friday, Jan. 12 against the Brock Badgers.