LONDON, Ont. – The Western Mustangs women's volleyball team continued their double-header weekend on Saturday, January 18 at Alumni Hall, but were unable to add another home victory losing to the Queen's Gaels 3-1. The four set match finished with scores of 25-23, 25-21, 25-24 and 23-25.

"I was really proud of how they played, regardless of the result. It's really tough one to lose that close, but we really showed that we can play with some of the best teams in the province tonight," said Mustangs head coach Melissa Bartlett.

The entire first set saw no more than two points between the Western and Queen's. As the set progressed, Queen's team came out ahead with Niki Slikboer adding two service aces to push the win for the Gaels. 

The Mustangs moved confidently into the second set, taking an eight point lead at 19-11, and forcing the Gaels into a timeout.  Candice Scott put up four kills for Western's offence in the set and Ariana Simpson led Western's defence with six digs to help with the team's second set 25-21 win over the Gaels.

The action carried over into an exciting third set as the teams continued to rally point for point. Long rallied, hard hits and strong defence ultimately helped the Gaels to a close win over the Mustangs with a final set score of 26-24.

The fourth and final set of the match was just as close, with the score remaining tight. Western came from behind and tied the set on several occasion, but it was Queen's who finally reached the 25-23

Scott led Western with 16 kills and one ace, while Stephanie Kreuter put up 15 kills and one ace. First-year setter Katherine Tsiofas had a memorable night of her own, contributing six kills, 48 assists, two service aces and two solo blocks.

The Gaels were led with Kelsey Bishop's 18 kills, one ace and one solo block.

The women's volleyball team will travel to Toronto next to take on the Ryerson Rams on Friday, January 25 at 6:00 p.m. and the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday, January 26 at 2:00 p.m.