LONDON, Ont. – Western took an early lead and never looked back on Saturday afternoon, winning three straight sets on their way to a victory over the RMC Paladins at Alumni Hall (25-18, 25-23, 25-23).

The win allows Western to maintain a perfect record at 4-0 to top the OUA's West Division while RMC moves to 1-5 on the season.
 
"It's very much mentality," said head coach Melissa Bartlett about the undefeated record. "It's the belief and confidence that we are one of the best teams, and we have such high expectations of ourselves. That translates into training hard, and preparing to compete well"
 
Taking an early lead in the first set, the purple and white momentum kept rolling. Establishing an early 6-1 lead over the Paladins, the point difference would prove to be insurmountable.
 
Despite tightening up attack coverage to combat the blocking of Candice Scott, RMC continued to trail. Heading into the technical timeout, a five-point gap remained.
 
Returning to the court the Paladins began to better challenge Western, outscoring the Mustangs 4-2. Focusing on accurate and powerful serving, the Paladins began to creep back up to the purple and white score at 18-15.
 
Refusing to lose the set, the Mustangs pushed out a quick seven points to take the first set at 25-18.
 
Opening up the second set, the Paladin corps were better able to combat the Mustang offense.
 
Often trading points and errors one-for-one, the set was tied at 7-7.
 
RMC responded by taking their first lead of the night at 8-10 after Nicole Behnke sent out a series of unanswered kills and aces, complimented by Kara Stephan's speedy attack.
 
Still behind at 11-14, the Mustangs moved into what has become their most successful positioning on the floor. With Veltman at the net and Tsiofas at the base line serving, the purple and white score has a tendency to shoot up. Together, the duo pushed Western ahead and into prime position to take the set.
 
Getting a bit too comfortable at 24-17, the Mustangs allowed six points before they were able to close out the set. Regardless of the delay, the second set was marked down as a 25-23 Mustang victory.
 
Back in action for the third set, the Paladins put up their best effort of the night. Taking an early 5-2 lead, they had adjusted so that the Mustang blocks could be easily picked up, while outside hitter Stephan found new exploitable holes in the Western defense.
 
"We just have to focus on communication more," said Tsiofas about how they fell into the deficit." We really struggled with that today, but we pulled through."
 
While a number of RMC attack errors reduced the point difference, the Mustangs were still down at the technical time-out.
 
Returning to the floor at 14-16, the Mustangs dominated the final minutes of the game. The game ended with point exchanges that allowed a two-point victory for Western at 25-23.
 
"They were very scrappy, said starting setter Katherine Tsiofas. "They're a great team defensively, and we have to give them credit for that. It was a really good match."
 
The Mustangs are back in Alumni Hall at 2pm tomorrow to test their perfect record against the 2-4 Queen's Gaels. Heading into the game, the Mustangs are preparing for a battle.
 
 "They've got some really strong athletes," notes Bartlett "and a new coach so there'll be a bit of a different competition philosophy. I think if they come to play, it'll be a tough match."