WATERLOO, Ont. – Despite coming back from a two set deficit, the Mustangs would fall to the Waterloo Warriors in five sets (11-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-20, 12-15) on January 24 at Waterloo's Physical Activities Complex.
The loss puts the Mustangs regular season record at 4-11 while Waterloo also records 4-11 on the season. As Western remains in fourth place in the OUA West standings, Waterloo moves up to share fourth place in a three-way tie with the Mustangs and Windsor.
The Warriors kicked off the first set with a dizzying six-point run from four kills and two service aces to bring the score to 0-6. Kelsey Veltman managed to interrupt the Warriors with a kill of her own, but couldn't stop Waterloo from maintaining their lead at 3-9.
At 9-17, Waterloo was still using tightly covering attackers to prevent Mustang blocks from ending the rally.
Another lengthy yellow and black point run brought the score to 9-23, with the set ending 11-25 on a Mustang attack error.
Waterloo again picked up a lead early on in the second set, but the Mustangs stayed close behind by only two points at 3-5. Focusing on error reduction, the Mustangs had caught up to the Warriors at 8-8.
Pulling into the lead for the first time in the match at 12-11, the Mustangs were playing with confidence and energy unseen in the earlier set.
Unfortunately, Waterloo proved unwilling to allow the set to escape them. After pushing the Mustangs into a four-point deficit at 16-20, the Warriors finished off the set with a kill from Emily Ibbotson at 19-25.
Breaking the pattern of the previous sets, Western was the first to take an early lead at 3-0. However, the Warriors soon matched the Mustangs at five points.
Despite falling behind Waterloo by four points at 6-10, the Mustangs rallied to tie the set at 10-10. Matching each other point for point, the set was again tied at 15-15.
With Jamie Leidl serving, the Mustangs distanced themselves from the Warrior score with a five-point run and had a substantial lead at 20-15.
Though the Warriors retaliated with point runs of their own, they were unable to overcome the Mustang lead. The set ended as a win for the Mustangs at 25-22 following an attack error from Waterloo, forcing a fourth set.
Western, hitting the floor with determination, picked up a six-point lead over the Warriors at 9-3 after the fourth set opened with an exchange of points.
With their lead shaved down to two points at 16-14, the Mustangs struggled with unforced errors at the net. Just a few minutes later, kills and blocks from Veltman helped the Mustangs extend their lead to five points at 20-15.
Unable to slow down the purple and white momentum, Waterloo gave up the fourth set to the Mustangs 25-20 on a serving error.
The Mustangs started off the fifth set by trailing behind the Warriors by a few points, but soon kicked it into high gear to pull ahead. Keeping it tight at 7-5, the Mustangs were careful to avoid the errors that had lost them points in earlier sets.
With the set tied at 11-11, Waterloo relied on playing safely and ensured no mistakes were made on their half of the court. The fifth set ultimately ended at 12-15 after two consecutive Mustang errors.
Veltman topped the scoresheet for the match, recording 17 points from 12 kills, one service ace, three solo blocks, and two assisted blocks. Casey Clunas and Claire Mackenzie of the Warriors followed closely behind, each contributing 16.5 points across five sets.
The Mustangs return to the court Saturday, January 31to face off against the Lakehead Thunderwolves at Alumni Hall. The match is set to begin at 12 p.m., with online streaming available at OUA.tv.
