London, Ont. – Following a brief break in their schedule the Western Mustangs men's volleyball team returned to the court on Friday night, falling in four sets to the Nipissing Lakers (24-26, 21-25, 25-20, 20-25) at Alumni Hall.

"I felt we played very well in the first set but it definitely frustrated the players. It would take a set before the guys could get over it," said head coach Jim Sage. "We played well in the third set, but let the fourth get away. We made too many errors."

The loss brings the Mustangs to a 4-3 record on the season, good for fourth place in the OUA standings. Friday's win was Nipissing's first of the year, and improves their record to 1-6.

Right from the first set the Lakers presented themselves as a team not to be underestimated as they kept up with the Mustangs with an exchange of points. With a kill from Doug Austrom at 4-4, Western would begin to create a substantial lead over the Lakers, as the purple and white would rally five points to lead the set 9-5 before an attack error by Mike Choja gave the Lakers a point.

Cameron Branch would lead the Lakers with three kills to try and close the gap but strong offensive play by the home side would keep the set in favour of the Mustangs, 16-10 at the technical timeout.

With a kill by Chris Newcombe the Lakers were forced to call a timeout at 20-13. Upon their return, it was evident that the time out was just what the Lakers needed as a number of Western errors helped them to tie the game 22-22 and forcing the Mustangs into their own timeout. 

After exchanging points, the Lakers would take the first set 26-24 after two consecutive errors by the Mustangs.

The second set started off just as the first with both teams looking to take a significant lead; however, neither side was able to gain a sustainable advantage although Western held a slight lead at the technical timeout. Unscathed, the Lakers weren't ready to let the Mustangs get away and, with a kill from Lyndon Sonego followed by an error by Zeid Hamadeh, Nipissing was able to tie the game 17-17.

With the Lakers stepping up their defensive game, Western called a time out at 18-20 to help recover the game. But it wouldn't be enough as the Lakers rode the momentum to take the second set 25-21.

With Branch putting points on the board to start things off for the Lakers in the third set, Justin Scapinello would answer for the Mustangs with two kills to tie up the game. Followed by consecutive kills from Austrom and a service ace, the Lakers would take a timeout early in the set at 9-7.

The purple and white used their renewed composure to lead throughout the frame. First-year setter Matt Hooker would setup key points for the Mustangs as they created a five point lead at 16-11. An attempt to close the gap saw the Lakers come within two at 18-16 off a kill by Branch, but the Lakers would be forced to call their second time out at 22-17.

Coming off the timeout, Western didn't let up as Scapinello and Hamadeh contributed kills to give the Mustangs the third set 25-20.

Looking to force a fifth set, the Mustangs aimed to keep the Lakers at bay in the fourth. Tied at 5-5, an intense rally ensued with the Mustangs taking the point off a kill by Hooker and the Lakers taking their first time out.

To no surprise, the game would continue to be a tight contest between the two teams as they exchanged point throughout the fourth set, though it would be Nipissing to break from the pack with a kill from Sonego at 12-13.

Errors would once again begin to plague the Mustangs, as the Lakers increased their lead to 14-18. Unable to set up strong offensive plays the Mustangs looked to a timeout to help them get out of a five point deficit at 15-20.

Stepping back onto the court, Western was able to bring it within three points (18-21) after a service error but weren't able to gain enough offensive momentum to create the rally they needed.

The Mustangs would drop the set on a service error from Scapinello ending the fourth 20-25 in favour for the Lakers.

Branch led all players with 21.5 points, recording 19 kills with three assisted blocks. Scapinello continued to lead the Mustangs offence with 19.5 points with 19 kills and an assisted block and tops the OUA individual leader board with 137 kills on the season. Teammate Austrom follows with 18 points in the loss with 16 kills and two service aces.

The Mustangs return to the court on Saturday, November 22 at Alumni Hall as they take on the York Lions. Game time is set for 7: p.m. and fans can watch all the action live on OUA.tv