Eager to ease the sting of their last visit to Toronto just four days earlier, the Marauders pieced together a convincing performance against another tough opponent in the big city Wednesday.
McMaster navigated four sets on the road to deal the Ryerson Rams a 3-1 (25-14, 25-21, 22-25, 25-18) defeat and move to 11-3 in OUA play.
With the win, the no. 10-ranked Marauders further cemented their hold on second spot in the OUA West division, while the Rams fell to 11-4 and remained second in the OUA East.
Veteran opposite Rebecca Steckle led the way for McMaster Wednesday, with a team high of 15 points on 13 of 30 hitting versus just three errors (.333), an ace and two block assists. Three other Marauder hitters reached double digits, including Joanna Jedrzejewska (13.5), Alicia Jack (12) and Maicee Sorensen (11.5), while Caitlin Genovy had 36 assists.
Wasting no time in grabbing hold of the match, Mac took an early lead in the first, punctuated by a double block on the right that moved the Marauders ahead 7-4. The trend continued as Rebecca Steckle found a difficult angle for the cut shot that pushed Mac to 11-7, and when Alicia Jack painted the back corner with an ace, the visitors had a six point lead at the technical timeout. Giving their hosts no chance to build momentum, the Marauders kept the pedal down, and after a Ryerson miss brought up set points, Jedrzejewska wiped wide from the left to seal the set.
Another strong start had the Marauders ahead to open the second set, but the Rams quickly countered, and held a slender 16-15 lead at the technical timeout thanks to a wipe from Becky Zeeman.
Struggling to find their stride offensively, the Marauders burned a timeout trailing 19-18 late, before an inspired substitution changed the complexion of the set entirely.
Katie Zutautas entered as a service swap, and would not move from the line before the set was over, powering the Marauders to a two-set lead. Confirming it with a kill, Arsovic wiped down off the block for 25-21, and gave the hosts a steep hill to climb.
The third set was a story of several momentum shifts, with the Rams enjoying a four-point lead at the technical timeout after a loose stretch of play from the Marauders. Tying things at 18 after a Ryerson miss, the Marauders would be forced to do the same for 22, inducing a timeout from the hosts after a pair of double blocks.
But the break suited the Rams well, and they emerged from it to take the next three points and the set, sealing it when Steckle was blocked along the left.
First blood in the fourth fell to the Marauders, who reeled off four straight points out of the break to induce an early timeout from the hosts. Their sluggish opening to the set cost the Rams yet again when Kristine Yan's overly-ambitious shot from a bad angle gave the Marauders an 11-5 lead and saw the hosts burn their second and final timeout of the fourth.
Doubling up the Rams at the technical timeout, the Marauders saw their form dip momentarily late on, but the return of setter Caitlin Genovy and opposite Rebecca Steckle to the floor at 21-17 spurred a final push to the finish line. Winning four of the next five points, Mac clinched the match when Steckle followed a deep kill with a converted overpass on match point.
