WINDSOR, Ont. – The Mustangs closed out the first half of their season on a high note, taking down the Windsor Lancers in four sets (22-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-23) to mirror their earlier matchup.
 
The victory puts the purple and white record at 7-2, good for second in OUA West. The Lancer record now sits at 5-4 to put the them third in the West.
 
Kelsey Veltman led the offense with 16 points throughout the night, recording 13 kills and three solo blocks. Aja Gyimah came in just behind with 12.5 while Katie McKenna picked up 11.
 
Keeping the Mustangs competitive in the backcourt and providing a solid foundation for the attack was Gyimah, who had a team-topping 14 digs.
 
The Lancer side of the score sheet was led by fourth year Shannon Dean, who picked up 13.5 points while libero Emily Durand shone on defense with 16 digs.
 
The Lancers took off straight out of the gate, picking up an early lead and holding on tightly. Without relying on a single player at the net, Windsor was able to mobilize a number of attackers who found open floor in the purple and white end.
 
At 8-13, the Mustangs had already posted four service and attack errors, enough points to tear down the Lancer lead.
 
Returning to the floor from the technical timeout at 12-16, both teams struggled to hold onto momentum and take control of the remainder of the set. Without long point runs to help erase the deficit, the Mustangs would remain below the Lancer score for the remainder of the set.
 
Regaining the serve at 19-24, the Mustangs were able to briefly prevent the Lancers from taking the final point of the match, clawing their way up to 22 before a final kill from Dean ended the set at 22-25.
 
The second set saw another quick lead that would remain in effect for the entire set. This time, however, it was Western who would come out on top.
 
Battling out of the initial exchange of points, Western capitalized on the unforced errors of the Lancers. With a service error, bad set, and attack error all recorded in quick succession, Windsor essentially handed the Mustangs their initial lead.
 
Forcing the Lancers into a timeout at 11-7, McKenna had become one of Katherine Tsiofas's favourite targets and was able to send the ball into vulnerable areas of the Windsor court.
 
A five-point cushion separated the Mustangs from Windsor at the technical, with a sharp reduction of purple and white errors preventing the Lancers from pick up undeserved points. On the Windsor end, however, attack errors increased to give the team a negative attack percentage for the second set.
 
Returning to the floor, the Mustangs continued to dominate, with Tsiofas, Gyimah, and Veltman all sending out unreturned attacks to close out the set at 25-16.
 
The Mustangs again had a quick start in the third, with another series of unforced errors digging the Lancers into a hole. A four-point run just before the technical essentially sealed the purple and white victory by creating an insurmountable seven-point difference.
 
Locked in a point-for-point exchange after the break, the Mustangs were finally able to break out of the pattern following a Tsiofas kill. The final points of the set were delivered to Western from the Lancers, as the last two were both errors to bring the score to 25-17.
 
The fourth set arguably marked the greatest battle of the match, with the Windsor making every effort to push the match into a fifth set.
 
Western's early one-point lead would carry them until the nine-point mark, when kills from Dean and Jade Ziebarth would officially overtake the purple and white score. Again tied at 11-11, Gyimah and Veltman pulled out their characteristically powerful swings to put the Mustang score back on top.
 
Still in the lead when the technical timeout rolled around, the Mustangs were able to keep the Lancers at an arm's length. Returning to the floor, Western was able to breeze through points until they were stalled at 22.
 
A five-point run that featured a variety of Lancer attackers not only halted the Mustang point advance, but also tied the set. Regaining the serve on an attack error, Veltman closed out the set with a kill, and a solo block on the following play to end the set at 25-23.
 
The victory marks the end of the first half of the season, with the Mustangs returning to the court on January 16^th to take on the Waterloo Warriors at Alumni Hall.