With their All-Canadian left side in command of his full assortment of powers Friday, the Marauders set down another emphatic victory on the road to the OUA playoffs.

Andrew Richards hit .560 with 16 kills and just two errors on 25 attempts, as McMaster pieced together a 25-12, 29-27, 25-13 win in Guelph to reel off its seventh straight conference win and remain unbeaten in 2019.

With the victory, the U SPORTS no. 5-ranked Marauders improved to 13-2 in conference play with two matches remaining in the OUA regular season. McMaster officially wrapped up the top spot in the OUA West division, and will play host to the OUA East's fourth seed in a quarterfinal at Burridge Gym on Saturday, March 2.

Richards concluded Friday with a match high of 18 points, adding two solo blocks to his offensive haul.

Despite sitting out the majority of the second set, right side Matt Passalent was the match's second leading attacker with nine kills on 21 attempts versus just one error (.381).

Momentum swung the way of the Marauders from the first serve Friday, as Mac secured the match's first two points and never looked back in the opening set.

Winning six of seven points to roar into the technical timeout with a 16-7 lead, McMaster claimed the next two and forced Guelph to burn its second and final timeout of the set while trailing by 11.

A brief moment of resistance saw the Gryphons win four of five points to pull within eight at 19-11, before the Marauders ripped off six of seven to conclude the set, and won it when Guelph's Aiden Hayter was called on a double contact.

With Dave Preston moving to spread court time and ease the load on his stars, the Marauders rolled out a new-look lineup in the second set, with Pearson Stiller sliding into the setting role and Nathan Delguidice slotting into the right side in place of Passalent.

What ensued was a back-and-forth battle of a set, with McMaster holding a slim 16-14 lead at the technical timeout after another double contact call against the home side.

That tenuous advantage slipped late, however, when the Gryphons rolled off four of five points to surge ahead 23-21 and threaten to level the match at a set apiece after a kill by senior Zach Newman.

Regrouping immediately under pressure, the Marauders responded with three straight points of their own, and earned a first set point of the second frame when Craig Ireland killed for 24-23. McMaster saw three set points pass them by, and was forced to fend off one itself, before a tidy kill from Bennett Swan brought up a fourth chance and Guelph's Oliver Hissink blasted an attack well long for 29-27.

With the full starting lineup back on court, and a two-set lead in tow, the Marauders wasted no time in pressing their advantage in the third, and raced out to a 7-2 lead to chase the Gryphons into an early timeout.

There was no way back for the hosts from there, as McMaster's lead stood at nine by the onset of the technical timeout and only grew from there, and the Marauders brought proceedings to a close on their second crack at match point when Passalent came up with the decisive kill.

NEXT UP: McMaster closes the season series with Brock in St. Catharines on Friday, February 22 to open the final weekend of the regular season. That match gets underway at 8:00 p.m. and will be webcast live on OUA.tv.