LONDON, Ont. – The Mustangs pulled in a huge victory Saturday evening at Alumni hall, defeating the Ryerson Rams in five sets (25-20, 26-28, 25-21, 18-25, 15-12).
The win marks the first victory for the Mustangs since November 6, and improves their record to 4-9. The win moves Western into fourth place in OUA West standings. With the loss, Ryerson's record sits at 10-3 as they continue to share second place the OUA East standings.
For head coach Melissa Bartlett, today's win had a lot to do with mental preparation. "We tried to prepare for 'what ifs.' What if we won set one, but don't do as well in set two. What if we get to a set five? We talked about those situations happening, and prepared for how we would react to them. It really showed in how we handled ourselves."
The Rams started off the first set on a hot streak that put the Mustangs down 0-3. Western quickly adjusted to Ryerson's playing style and caught up at 4-4. Kelsey Veltman and Aja Gyimah, with their impenetrable and unavoidable blocks, helped push the Mustangs ahead of Ryerson for the first time in the set.
At 13-8, the Mustangs forced Ryerson into their first time-out of the match. Returning to the court, Katherine Tsiofas and Candice Scott threw up a massive block proving that the Mustang momentum would not be interrupted.
At 20-18 the Mustangs called a time-out of their own, fearing that the Rams were catching up too quickly. The concern was unnecessary, with Western winning the set 25-20 on another double block from Tsiofas and Scott.
The Mustangs started off the second set slowly, with a two-point deficit still looming over them at 6-8.
Aided by the tough serves delivered by Taylor Beedie and a series of blue and gold errors the match was tied at 12-12. The purple and white defense proved to be difficult for the Rams to navigate, with a time-out called at18-14 to regroup.
Stopped at 23 points, the Mustangs struggled to finish off the set as Ryerson fought to close the five-point gap. At 23-21, Western used their second time-out of the set.
With the set tied at 23-23, both teams began pulling out their biggest hits. Gaining the advantage at 26-27 after a Mustang passing error, Ryerson's Emily Nicholishen won the set for the Rams with a kill.
Working to re-establish dominance on the court after losing the second set, the Mustangs fought hard to give themselves a fast five point lead at 8-3. Unable to combat the purple and white attacks, the Rams were forced into an early time out at 11-5.
At 18-10, Ryerson used their second time out of the set. Returning to the floor with a new focus and energy, the Rams forced Western into a time-out of their own at 22-17. Despite pressure from the Rams, the set was ultimately a purple and white victory with the final score at 25-21.
The fourth set opened with an exchange of points, but the Mustangs soon fell behind the Rams following a series of unforced errors. Behind by three points at 7-10, the Mustangs struggled with defensive holes that were previously unexploited by Ryerson.
Tightening up defence the Mustangs tied the Rams at 12-12, but struggled to stay close to the blue and gold score. At 14-20, the Mustangs used their second time-out of the set to refocus and rework their defensive and offensive plan.
The time-out proved to be not enough time to refocus for the Mustangs, as the set ended 18-25 on a Mustang error.
The competition was fierce early in the final set, with the teams trading points one for one. At 7-7, neither team was able to shake the other off. After pulling ahead at 12-10, the Mustangs forced the Rams into a time-out.
Unable to slow down the Mustang momentum, Veltman finished off the match with a kill to bring the score to 15-12.
"We were in a losing streak," said libero Emma Cully about the previous matches. "We kept losing the fifth set, and finally winning the fifth set really can help us turn it around for the second half of this season."
Ryerson's Veronica Livingston topped the scoresheet for both teams with 30 points across the five sets. On the Musatng side, Gyimah led with 21 points from 17 kills, one ace, one solo block, and two assisted blocks.
The Mustangs return to the court on January 23 at Guelph, with game time set for 6 p.m. The game can be streamed online at OUA.tv.
