Giving the nation's fourth-seeded team all they could handle at Burridge Gym Friday, the host Marauders ultimately came out on the losing end of a razor-close, five-set decision.

McMaster pulled into a 2-1 lead through three sets, but Ryerson responded by grabbing control of the fourth in the late stages and carrying that edge into the decisive fifth frame to hand Mac the 25-23, 12-25, 25-19, 21-25, 9-15 loss.

The tight decision moved Mac to 6-5 on the season, while Ryerson improved to 10-2.

Indicative of the incredibly close match that played out at Burridge Gym, the two teams earned an equal total of 70 points over the course of five sets, with the Rams out-hitting the Marauders en route to a team average of .204.

McMaster, meanwhile, enjoyed a wide advantage on the block, where the duo of right side Jessie Nairn and middle Hailey Kranics led the way with matching totals of five solo blocks apiece.

Nairn was Mac's leading attacker in a losing effort, with 16 kills from 34 attempts against five errors (.324), and ended the night with 22 points including a single ace.

Her team struggled to find its rhythm offensively, however, hitting just .123 as a group.

NEXT UP: The Marauders conclude their weekend on home court with a match against the Trent Excalibur Saturday at 6:00 p.m. That match can be seen live or on demand on OUA.tv.