Setting the tone early with bruising work from the service line, the Marauders raced to their fifth win of the month at the expense of the Lakehead Thunderwolves Friday.
Sweeping Lakehead aside 25-15, 25-7, 25-23, McMaster continued the spotless run which has seen the U SPORTS no. 6-ranked team win all 15 sets played in 2018, and a total of 16 straight dating back to December 2017.
Middle
Maicee Sorensen (Hamilton, ON) proved too much for the Thunderwolves to handle Friday, particularly from the service line, where she smashed a previous career single-match high with eight aces.
Her previous high, achieved three times in the 2016-17 season, was five.
In all, Sorensen scored 20 points including 11 kills on 16 attempts with no errors (.688) and a solo block. That total was the second-highest mark of her career, behind only her 25.5 points achieved in October's season-opener against Ryerson.
Her effort saw the Hamilton product improve her season-long hitting percentage to an OUA-best rate of .488, while moving into fourth in total aces (23) and fifth in aces per set (0.57).
Struggling in the face of consistently-challenging service from McMaster, Lakehead conceded 14 aces Friday, and spent much of the match searching for a quality first pass.
Consequently, the visitors' offence rarely materialized in their hefty defeat, with the Thunderwolves hitting just .034 as a group with 23 kills versus 20 errors on 87 attempts.
The gulf between the teams was most glaring in the second set, when the Marauders collected nine kills as a group versus just two errors on 16 attempts (.438), while the Thunderwolves committed eight errors versus just five kills on 22 attempts (-.136).
Showing signs of life in the match's late stages, Lakehead stabilized in the third set and mounted a challenge in hopes of extending the evening.
A pair of five-point runs kept the Thunderwolves in contention, the second of which levelled the set at 20-apiece after a pair of kills from outside Leah Mousseau.
Ultimately, it was Sorensen who provided the cutting edge, killing to bring up match points before
Hailey Kranics (Fort Erie, ON) duly converted on the first attempt by slicing the quick set to the sideline.
NEXT UP: The two teams reconvene at the same time and same place Saturday, for the second half of the weekend series. First serve, as it was Friday, is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
All McMaster home matches are streamed live on OUA.tv.
