HAMILTON, Ont. – The McMaster Marauders earned some revenge for last year's OUA Quarterfinal loss to the Mustangs, defeating Western in four sets (24-26, 22-25, 25-18, 20-25) on Friday night at Burridge Gymnasium.

The purple and white record now sits at 4-2, putting them in second place in the OUA West, while the Marauders hold down the top spot in the West at 5-1.

Leading the way for Western was Taylor Beedie, who led the offensive effort with 17.5 points from 11 kills, and five service aces, while adding one solo and one assisted block to the scoresheet.

However, it was McMaster's Joanna Jedrzejewska who would total the highest number of points across both sides of the scoresheet. With 16 kills, three service aces, and one assisted block, the nursing student totalled 19.5 points.

Taking an early 7-5 lead in the first set, the Mustangs launched a fast attack that left the Marauders floundering.

The McMaster contingent was quick to show off the towering block that had allowed them to take previous sets, but struggled to make them count. Failing to close the block, the Mustangs found success in sending the ball through blockers into a defensive hole.

With both teams having something to prove, athletes from both sides of the court were putting too much power on the ball to give up points on the serve. 

Beginning to run away with the set, the Mustangs forced the home-court Marauders into their first timeout of the match at 14-9. However, the Marauders began to comeback, tying the set at 17 after cutting back on unforced errors and making the purple and white defence scramble.

Still sporting matching scores at 24-24, Maicee Sorensenn and Jedrzejewska respectively closed out the set will a kill and final block to bring the score to 24-26.

The tension extended into the second set, with Western again picking up an early 7-5 lead only to be overcome by the surging Marauders.

McMaster effectively nullified the biggest threats on the Mustang half of the floor, cutting off Western point leader Aja Gyimah and shutting down the surprise attack of setter Katherine Tsiofas at the net.

Heading in the technical down by three, Western came back to the floor with renewed ferocity to outscore McMaster and tie the set at 17 all. Middles Candice Scott and Danielle Grasman led the charge after the technical, each making big plays when Western needed them the most.

Falling back into a deficit as the Marauders rounded the 20-point mark, the Mustangs used their second timeout of the set at 20-23. Unable to overcome the difference, the second set was marked down as a 22-25 loss for Western.

The third set opened with the strongest Western start of the game, quickly picking up a 4-1 advantage. While the Mustang machine started rolling early on, the McMaster blocking effort quickly narrowed the point difference. 

The middles continued to drive the offence, with Scott and Grasman picking up the majority of the big points. The backcourt was dominated by libero Courtney Sestric, who made every effort to get hands on every ball throughout the night.

With a four-point lead at the technical and opening up the largest lead of the night at 20-14, the Mustangs appeared to be positioning themselves for an impressive comeback.

Rolling through the final points of the set, the Mustangs took the third set 25-18 to force a fourth.

McMaster took control of the fourth set straight out of the gate, marking the first set of the night that they had been able to begin with a lead.

However, Beedie had other ideas, as her performance from the base line brought Western ahead at 7-5. 

As both teams battled for the match, rallies lengthened with McMaster often coming out on top. Strong attackers and serves threw the Mustang reception into disarray, with the purple and white contingent struggling to get a good first touch.

Behind by four at the technical timeout, the Mustangs continued to struggle with serve reception after the break, and after being unable to slow down the home side, the fourth set came to an end at 20-25.

The Mustangs are back in action tomorrow night, as the team heads down to Waterloo to take on the Warriors at 6 p.m. Live streaming of the match is available on OUA.tv.