Box Score The host University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's volleyball team fell 3-1 (33-35, 25-23, 15-25, 18-25) in OUA semi-final action on Saturday afternoon at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.

With the loss, the Blues will take on the loser of the Ottawa/Guelph semifinal for the OUA bronze medal tomorrow at 12 p.m. The Marauders advance to the OUA final and book their ticket to the CIS national tournament next week, February 28 – March 2, hosted by the University of Regina.

Fourth-year left side hitter Charlotte Sider of Ottawa led the Blues with 19 kills and eight digs, while Jennifer Neilson had 12 kills, two aces and two blocks. Denise Wooding notched 10 digs, with Madelyn Mandryk adding 28 assists in the loss.

The Marauders got out to an early 4-1 lead, thanks to three straight aces from Taylor Brisebois, but the Blues battled back to even the score at 8-8 and the two teams exchanged the lead from there. U of T took a narrow 16-14 lead into the technical timeout.

McMaster went on a 6-1 run out of the break, only to be answered by a 3-0 streak by Toronto and the game was deadlocked at 20. The Marauders surged ahead and looked to have the game out of reach at 24-21, but the Blues responded and the two teams went back and forth until McMaster pulled away for the 35-33 win.

Tied 7-7 early in the second set, McMaster went on a 9-3 streak to take a 16-10 advantage into the technical time out. The Blues took over from there, ending the second on a 15-8 run, highlighted by three kills and a final ace from Sider to take it 25-23.

To no surprise the third set started as a see-saw battle, until McMaster notched 10 consecutive points to take a 16-8 lead into the technical timeout. The Marauders cruised to victory from there, taking a 2-1 match lead with the 25-15 victory.

The Marauders used their third-set momentum to build a five-point lead at the technical time out and despite a rally effort from Toronto, McMaster took the last set and match 25-18.

Rookie standout Sophie Bukovec led all players with 30 kills and 15 digs, while Joanna Jedrzejewska had 14 kills and 17 digs on the day. Kayla Ng added 53 assists and 13 digs in the win.

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