Box Score The margins could hardly get closer, but when the moment called for resolve, the Marauders came up with it Saturday.

McMaster navigated a marathon match in the OUA final, besting the Western Mustangs 17-15 in the fifth set to win the third conference title in their history. Watching a two-set lead evaporate, the Marauders rebounded in the decisive fifth to claim the see-saw victory (28-26, 25-18, 25-27, 23-25, 17-15).

With the Marauders men clinching their fifth consecutive OUA title earlier Saturday night, McMaster achieved the double volleyball banner for the third time in school history. The two programs previously won matching banners in 2008 and 2014.

McMaster outside Joanna Jedrzejewska was named the Marauders Player of the Match following a 21-point outing, shouldering the offensive burden with 60 touches. Maicee Sorensen also put forth a strong performance, tallying 16 points. The pair combined for six of team's 16 blocks, while Alicia Jack led the team with five solo blocks.

Both squads put together strong defensive efforts, with five members from each team cracking double digits in digs on the night. The strength of the defensive play showed in the teams' hitting rates, with Western held to just 10 per cent and McMaster 17.

Mac libero Carly Heath led all players with 30 digs over the five-set match.

The Mustangs duo of Candice Scott and Kelsey Veltman combined for 42.5 of Western's 80 points. However, they also accounted for 20 of their team's 39 errors, which proved costly in such a close match. McMaster only committed 22 errors as a team by comparison.

A razor-close match saw three sets eclipse the 25-point threshold, while the fifth itself went into the bonus.

The Marauders took the first two sets to take a stranglehold on the match, before the Mustangs stormed back to take the next two and set the stage for a dramatic finish.

With how closely matched the two squads were throughout the first four sets, the fifth was unsurprisingly no different. Blocking helped the Marauders take the lead late, and ultimately, it was the double stuff of Sorensen and Aleks Arsovic that brought the match to an end.

McMaster and Western will now head to the U Sports National Championship next weekend at Ryerson University in Toronto. The tournament will begin March 17 and run until March 19. Matchups for the tournament are yet to be determined.