After finishing the regular season in second place in the OUA with a 17-3 record and earning a first round playoff bye the Western Mustangs men's volleyball team will return to the court on Friday, February 21 as they take on the Waterloo Warriors in the first game of the OUA Final Four at McMaster's Burridge Gym in Hamilton.

The Mustangs started the 2013-14 season off strong and continued to improve, closing out the regular season on a nine-game winning streak and taking the eighth spot in the final CIS Top 10 rankings of the year. The Mustangs boast a well-distributed offence with all players on the court able to attack the ball with help from their OUA Second Team All-Star setter Sean Mckay. Outside hitter Garret May leads the Western offence with an average of 4.41 points per set, also earning him a place as an OUA First Team All-Star along with teammate Phil James. James has averaged 3.53 points per set in the middle and is trailed by outside hitter Justin Scapinello with 3.26 points per set.

The Western squad will be looking to extend their winning streak to ten games on Friday when they face the OUA's third seed in the Waterloo Warriors.
 
Western vs. Waterloo – Friday, February 21 at 5:30 PM

The CIS No. 9 Warriors (16-4) advanced to the Final Four after defeating the Queen's Gaels 3-1 last week in their quarterfinal matchup. Friday's game will be the third meeting between the Mustangs and the Warriors this season with the purple and white coming out on top in the two previous contests, although both games needed the full five sets to be decided.

The Warriors were led in the regular season by Zachary Doherty, James Evans and Jordan Dyck, who averaged 3.08, 3.06, and 2.99 points per set on the season, respectively. Evans and Dyck were named Second Team All-Stars while Scott Thompson is the sole Warrior on the First Team. In the last match-up between the two teams, Doherty and Dyck each recorded a team-high 17 points despite the loss while Western's May and Luke Sim counted a respective 16 and 15 points in the win.

After the Mustangs squeaked by with a 15-13 fifth-set win in their last meeting the Waterloo squad will be hungry to find their first win of the season against Western as Friday's match promises to be a thrilling battle between two of the top teams in the OUA.
 
TBA vs. TBA (Gold Medal Game) – Saturday, February 22 at 7 PM
 
Ryerson (12-8) and McMaster (19-1) will be battling in their own semi-final match to determine which team will advance to the OUA Final on Saturday. Although anything can happen, a nearly undefeated McMaster squad will be a tough team to beat for the Rams, who have already fallen twice to the Marauders while managing to take just one set off the McMaster team in both games combined.

If victorious in their own semi-final game, a Western vs. McMaster matchup in the gold medal game will be a tough contest for the Mustangs as the purple and white have been unable to find a win against the CIS No. 1 Marauders in their previous two meetings, losing 3-2 in their second game of the season in October and again by the same score in early January. Despite losing both prior matches, the Mustangs are one of only two teams in the OUA this year to hold McMaster to five sets, with the Warriors losing in five before turning around to hand the Marauders their sole defeat of the season in a 3-2 win in late January. If set to face McMaster in the Final, Western will be looking to repeat Waterloo's feat and defeat the Marauders on their home court for the first time this season when it matters most.

If the Rams upset the Marauders in their Semi-Final match the gold medal game will look decidedly different. The Mustangs took two wins from the Rams earlier in the season, starting with a close 3-2 win in mid-November but concluding with a commanding 3-0 victory in late January.  

All the action begins with two semi-final matchups on Friday at McMaster's Burridge Gymnasium before the OUA Championship game on Saturday.