LONDON, Ont. – Redeeming themselves from a loss to Western earlier this season, the Windsor Lancers defeated the Mustangs in five sets (25-20, 19-25, 25-19, 18-25, 11-15) on Friday night at Alumni Hall.
 
Headed into the game with matching 3-6 records, both sides were looking for a win to take over sole possession of fourth place in the OUA West standings. With their win the Lancers move to 4-6 on the year, while Western moves to 3-7.
 
"I think we have a lot of offensive weapons," said Mustangs head coach Melissa Bartlett. "When we're on, we're definitely one of the most difficult teams to defend against in the entire league when we're receiving well and passing well. It's just a matter of winning those long rallies, staying focused, tough defence and some teams that are maybe less skilled than us are out-competing us and that can tip the scale sometimes."
 
Laura Lytwynec opened up the scoreboard with a kill to start the Mustangs off on a high note. Riding the momentum, the Mustangs raced ahead to quickly establish a seven-point lead at 12-5.
 
Despite closing the point gap to two points at 16-14 after multiple Mustang errors, the Lancers were unable to completely adjust to the power of Western's play at the net and continued to trail behind.
 
Focusing on strategic attacks and impenetrable blocks, the Mustangs extended their lead and took the first set 25-20.
 
With 14 Mustang kills in the set – compared to five from Windsor – the Mustangs proved themselves to be a force when on offence.
 
Heading back onto the court, the Lancers were determined to even the score and capture the second set. Quickly establishing a small lead, Windsor had control of the set early on until the Mustangs refocused their defensive play to fill previously exploited holes and areas of weakness to tie the score up at 11-11.
 
Pulling ahead, the Mustangs smashed out a series of attacks that left the Lancers floundering to bring the score to 15-12. Adjusting defensively, and focusing on blocking, the Lancers tied up the score at 18-18.
 
Despite calling a timeout at 19-21 the Mustangs were unable to slow the momentum of the Lancers, with the second set ending at 19-25.
 
Although the third set opened up with a Lancer error, the Mustangs fell into a point deficit that lasted much of the set. Slowed by an energized opponent, Western struggled to combat the consistency and accuracy behind Windsor's serves.
 
Rallying to tie up the match at 13-13, the Mustangs refocused their game to close defensive weak spots while also reducing unforced errors.
 
Exchanging points, both teams struggled to create a substantial lead until the serving consistency of Aja Gyimah helped the Mustangs pull ahead to 20-18.
 
Looking to end the set, the Mustangs hammered out a quick five points, interrupted by only one for the Lancers, to end the set 25-19.
 
Carrying over their momentum from the third set the Mustangs took an early lead in the fourth, but were soon challenged by the Lancer blocks and forced into a timeout at 8-12.
 
Walking back into position with a new plan, the Mustangs adjusted their play at the net to avoid being blocked and brought the score to 15-16.
 
Unwilling to allow the set to get away from them, Windsor responded by tightening up their defensive play and refusing to let any ball drop and forced the Mustangs into another time-out at 16-20.
 
Looking to end the set quickly and not allow the Mustangs a chance for a comeback, the Lancers strategically placed their attacks for a quick few points to end the set 19-25 on a Mustang error.
 
Regardless of Candice Scott starting off the final set for the Mustangs with an un-returnable serve, Windsor quickly established a lead that would last the entire set.
 
Already forced into a timeout at 1-3, the Mustangs struggled to combat the renewed confidence of the Lancers. With stronger attacks and a more rigorous defence, Windsor quickly hammered out a series of points to extend their lead, with the Mustangs trailing 1-8 at the technical timeout.
 
Slowly working their way back from the deficit, the Mustangs focused on powerful attacks to force Windsor into a timeout with Western down 11-14. Unfortunately for the purple and white faithful in attendance, the Lancers took the game following the timeout, with Western losing the set 11-15.
 
Kelsey Veltman led all players with 18.5 points from 12 kills, six solo blocks and one assisted block. While Lancer Hannah Robson and Mustang Aja Gyimah followed closely behind with 17, and 16.5 points each.
 
The Mustangs will now take a break throughout December and return on January 10 for a match against McMaster at Alumni Hall. Game time is set for 5 p.m. and fans can watch all the action live on OUA.tv.