Playing one of the top teams in the OUA will always act as a measuring stick for the Nipissing Lakers women's volleyball team.

And although they dropped a tough, but competitive 3-0 decision Saturday afternoon to the McMaster Maruaders, the Lakers will use the match as a learning experience moving forward.

In the first set, the Lakers came out strong and despite trailing early on, managed to catch up and trade points with McMaster. The Marauders hit the technical timeout, up 16-12.

McMaster continued to carry the play after the technical timeout and came away with a25-17 victory in the opening set.

The second set went down to the wire, with both teams putting together impressive runs to grab momentum.

McMaster once again led at the technical timeout, up 16-15, but the set was very even overall.

The score was tied 23-23 late in the set and despite being right there with the number two ranked team in the OUA, the Lakers couldn't pull out the victory and lost the second game 26-24.

In the third set, Nipissing tried for a late push to extend the match, but ran out of gas against the powerful Marauders.

Eventually, McMaster pulled away and sealed the win, winning the third set 25-12 and claiming the match in straight sets.

Erika Lapierre and Annabelle Harvey led the Lakers attack with 6.5 points each, while Olivia Robinson added 4.5 points in the loss.

At 7-8, the Lakers are currently tied for fourth place, but hold the tie-breaker over York as the season winds down and both teams push for the playoffs.

Nipissing is back in action Sunday afternoon when they host Brock at Noon at the RJS Athletic Centre.