Friday saw the Marauders and Mustangs battle through a tale of two halves, before the visitors from McMaster crucially found a new gear in the fifth set.

Watching a two-set lead evaporate as Western rolled through the third and fourth, McMaster came out on the winning side of a second consecutive five-set match by out-dueling the hosts 25-22, 25-20, 16-25, 21-25, 15-8.

With the result, the Marauders improved to 5-3 in conference play as they concluded the 2018 portion of their schedule and entered the exam and holiday break of December.

Bearing a heavy load on offence yet again, right side Jessie Nairn turned 42 attempts into a match high 16 kills and added a solo block for 17 points.

Middle Hailey Kranics was efficient in more limited usage, killing eight of 15 attempts versus just two errors (.400), while adding four block assists for 10 points.

Defensively busy on Friday, libero Zoe Mackintosh racked up a season high of 22 digs over the course of five sets.

McMaster came out on the winning end of the contest despite a difficult night at the service line, where the Marauders posted a -12 differential of aces to errors.

Nearly doubling the hosts at the technical timeout in the opening set, McMaster brought up five set points when Jessie Nairn took control of a high, out-of-system pass and delivered a savage cross-court kill for 24-19.

Three of those points went begging, as the home side fought back to within striking distance and forced the visitors to scramble to a timeout. But as they emerged from the break, the Marauders found the decisive touch, as Rachel Woock's initial effort from the left wing induced an overpass and Kamila Haase duly dispatched it through the middle for 25-22.

Another encouraging start had the Marauders ahead of the Mustangs 16-12 at the technical timeout in the second, before the set turned into a battle in the late stages. But McMaster's belief shone through in the late points, as the visitors powered ahead 23-20 to force a Western timeout and brought up set points one point later after the Mustangs were called on a double contact.

This time, Mac needed just a single opportunity to convert, as Nairn scooped a shot from the back row down the line for a set-clinching kill at 25-20.

Unwilling to retreat meekly in the third set, the Mustangs returned with purpose from the changeover, taking an early lead. But Nairn continued to be lethal from the right, and after another heavy cross-court kill from her was followed by a Western error, the Marauders drew level at nine.

The hosts immediately stemmed the tide, and re-established momentum to take a 16-10 lead into the technical timeout after a Maddie Lethbridge swing from the left sailed long.

With McMaster once again threatening to work its way back into the set, an impressive service run from left side Melissa Langegger helped Western speed to the finish line in the third. The hosts brought up a bevy of set points at 24-14 and needed just two to convert, winning the set on a joust for 25-15.

Momentum stayed with the home side in the fourth, as the Mustangs took a narrow advantage through the technical timeout, and seemed poised to send the set to a fifth when a pinballing kill found the floor for 19-14.

A pair of late service errors proved costly for the visitors, with the Mustangs eventually edging a close conclusion to the fourth and taking it on a second set point as Kelsey Veltman tipped through the middle for 25-21.

Unbowed after seeing their two-set advantage evaporate, the Marauders emerged strongly from the changeover and chased the Mustangs into an early timeout after opening the fifth by winning the first three points.

Side-out volleyball reigned midway through the set, but an emotional stuff for setter Katie Zutautas pushed Mac ahead 10-7 and kicked off a 6-1 run to conclude the match.

A Woock ace and Jessie Nairn kill brought up match points at 14-8, and McMaster needed just one, as Western's final attempt of the night sailed wide to seal the result.

NEXT UP: McMaster heads to the holiday break, and will host its next OUA action when the Windsor Lancers visit Burridge Gym on Saturday, January 12.