LONDON, Ont. – Proving themselves worthy of the top spot in the OUA, the Toronto Varsity Blues walked away with their 12th consecutive win on Friday night as the Western Mustangs fell to Toronto in three sets (21-25, 17-25 13-25) at Alumni Hall.
 
Western now holds a 3-9 record on the season and remain in fifth place in the OUA West, while Toronto maintains their spot atop the OUA East with a 12-0 mark.
 
"We knew it was a tough team going in," said Mustangs head coach Melissa Bartlett. "We talked about it being a great opportunity to see where we're at. Unfortunately, there were some nerves. We could have challenged them more, but it's a great team and a great opportunity for our young kids to play against such an accomplished and experienced team."
 
Blues setter Madelyn Mandryk started off the match with a dump that left the Mustangs scrambling to get hands on the ball, a play that would be repeated throughout the match. Pushing the Mustangs into a six-point deficit at 5-11, Toronto capitalized on the earlier discovered defensive hole that could be exploited through tips and dumps.
 
The Mustangs were undeterred by a substantial point difference. With Kelsey Veltman's blocking, and the consistency of Serena Smith's serving, the Mustangs battled back from a seven point difference to bring the score to 12-14. Things remained close until the end of the frame, however the home side fell 21-25 in the opening set.
 
Toronto started off the second set with continued determination, but were unable to keep the Mustangs down. Only two points behind at 5-7, the Mustangs were extending every effort in order to reach the ball.
 
A series of tough blocks, and targeted attacks paired with consistent serving helped Toronto pull further ahead and put the Mustangs behind 12-20.
 
Toronto's Sarah Chapin and Jennifer Neilson ended the set on a double block, allowing the Blues to take the second set 17-25.
 
Toronto started off the third set with a series of point runs only briefly interrupted by the Mustangs. At 5-11, the Blues had the Mustangs doubled in score and struggling to combat the flurry of attacks coming from the blue and white half of the court.
 
With the Mustangs still doubled at 10-20, Toronto continued to push through blocks and exploit defensive holes to finish off the set at 13-25.
 
 
"It was a tough game, Toronto is such a good team," said Laura Lytwynec. We knew that going in and there were definitely some moments where we could have done better, could have pushed harder and minimized our errors. We just have to let this game go and look forward to the game against Ryerson tomorrow, and expect a win."
 
Charlotte Sider of the Varsity Blues topped the scoresheet, with 12.5 points from eight kills, three aces, one solo block, and one assisted block. Kelsey Veltman and Jennifer Neilson followed closely behind with 11.5 and 11 points respectively.
 
The Mustangs return to the court on January 17 to face off against Ryerson at Alumni Hall. The match is set to begin at 6pm, with online streaming available at OUA.tv.