LONDON, Ont. – Taking on one of the OUA's toughest teams, the Mustangs fought through four competitive sets before ultimately falling to the Ryerson Rams (22-25, 33-31, 27-25, 15-25) on Friday night at Alumni Hall.

The loss extends the purple and white losing streak to four games, while moving their record to 4-5 for the season. Ryerson now sits at 7-2, and are currently on a three game winning streak.  

"They're a talented team, and they've got a lot of guys who can really get up there and bang on that ball," said left side Doug Austrom. "They really played together, and came ready to compete. They won a couple of close sets and then really took it to us in the fourth."

Gavin Taylor once again led the Mustangs offence, putting up 17.5 points throughout four sets of play. Close behind was middle Mike Choja who put up 14 points in the loss.

Lucas Coleman topped Ryerson's half of the scoresheet with 23.5 points with 23 kills and one assisted block.

The first set opened up with the Mustangs jumping out to an early lead, surprising the Rams with their speed to take a 6-3 advantage. Quickly adjusting to the purple and white game, Ryerson tied the set at 11-11.

Austrom and Evan Cranshaw quickly established themselves as offensive threats on the floor, easily finding their way around a towering Ryerson block to find holes in their coverage. Heading into the technical timeout up by three, the Mustangs were forcing the Rams to earn every point.

Back on the floor, Ryerson pushed out five consecutive points – helmed by fifth year Alex Dawson – to take back the lead.

Momentum continued to shift back and forth throughout the set, with the score tied at 22-22. Regaining the serve after an unforced Western error, the Rams pushed out the final points of the set to take their first victory of the night at 22-25.

The second set again began with the Mustangs picking up a quick lead only to be later overtaken.

Holding onto the lead at 11-9, Mike Choja and Chris Newcombe took over as the major threats at the net. As the tallest Mustangs on the floor, they were best able to avoid the blocks being thrown up by Ryerson.


London native Marc Reardon caused the most trouble for Western, as he not only shut down the Mustang offensive but also put up plenty of points from his own attack.

Returning the the floor after the technical timeout with a two-point deficit, Matt Hooker found Newcombe to be one of his most promising targets, eventually tying the score at 19. Ryerson crept back ahead briefly before the score was again even at 23-23.
 
Exchanging points and equally impressive plays, the set was pushed into extra points before Reardon closed out the set 31-33 on a kill.
 
Opening up the third set with a lengthy point exchange that left the score tied at 11-11, neither team had been able to put up more than a two-point difference. With both teams battling for each and every point, rallies showcased the best of both teams while becoming increasingly long.
 
After returning from the technical down by two, the Mustangs rallied to erase the point difference and match the Rams at 23. With Ryerson attack errors supplementing the characteristically strong Western offence, the Mustangs were able to take the third set 27-25.
 
Back on the floor for the fourth set, the Rams were fired up and played with a new ferocity. Pulling away from the Mustangs quickly, Ryerson more than doubled the purple and white score at 7-16.
 
Maintaining momentum through the break, Robert Wojcik totalled three consecutive service aces to further push down the Mustang score. Rounding the 20-point mark while the Mustangs were still at ten, the Rams rushed through the final points to close out the set at 15-25.

"Maybe some fatigue on our end. Maybe our legs stopped having the same get-up as they did," said Austrom about the team's fourth set performance. "But I really think it was their serving. They stayed aggressive, took us out of our system and that's all the difference in a close game like that."

The Mustangs are back in action Saturday night as they return to Alumni Hall to face Toronto in their final game before the December break. Set to begin at 7 p.m., fans can watch all the action live on OUA.tv.
 
"Toronto's a good team," said assistant coach Craig Dixon. "If we come out like we did today we should get the win, but they are a good team. We'll have to play hard."