ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – After handing Waterloo a straight sets loss in their home opener last weekend the Western Mustangs suffered a straight sets defeat of their own on Sunday, falling in three sets (16-25, 22-25, 12-25) to the Brock Badgers at the Bob Davis Gymnasium.
 
Western now holds a 3-4 record, good for fourth in the OUA West, while the Badgers move to 4-3 on the year, taking over third place in the West Division.
 
The home side didn't waste anytime taking the first set on Sunday, claiming a 25-16 win on the strength of nine kills with a .217 hitting percentage. The Badgers limited themselves to only four errors on 23 total attacks in the set.
 
Western battled back in the second frame, being narrowly edged out by Brock by a 25-22 score. The Mustangs improved both their attacking and defence in the second set, while the Badgers hitting percentage fell down to .080 to make for a much closer set.
 
Unfortunately for the Mustangs the Badgers came out firing on all cylinders in the third and final set, commiting only three errors compared to seven kills on 16 total attacks to take the set 25-12.
 
Brock's Renee Helmer led all players with 12 points on Sunday, coming off of 10 kills and two service aces. She was also strong on the defensive end, recording eight digs, just four behind team leader Karlinna O'Leary.
 
Western's offence was again led by first-year Mustang Kelsey Veltman with seven points off of six kills and one ace.  Fellow first-year Courtney Sestric led the purple and white defence, recording 11 digs in the loss.
 
The Mustangs will be back in action next weekend as they host the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday, November 15 at 7 p.m. at Alumni Hall. Tickets are available here, and fans can watch all the action live on OUA.tv.