Box Score HAMILTON, Ont. – Disregarding the Valentine's Day spirit, the Mustangs broke the hearts of the energetic maroon crowd who came out to support McMaster at the Burridge Gymnasium on February 14. After taking the win in four sets (25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 25-20), Western will continue on in the playoffs as they advance to the OUA Final Four Championship while the season comes to an end for the Marauders, who were last year's OUA Champions.
 
The first set was rocky, with long rallies that tested the athleticism of both teams. With 13 purple and white kills, powerful attacks were at the centre of Western's strategy. Staying tight to the Mustangs score, the Marauders kept the point gap narrow, responding with 11 of their own kills in the first set.
 
Working on tight defense and covering, Western was leading the set by only two points at 21-19. Moments later, rookie Kelsey Veltman ended the set for the Mustangs at 25-22 as she stuffed the oncoming Marauder attacker and sent the ball shooting into open court.
 
The second set started off with McMaster and Western locked in a seemingly endless exchange of points with the score tied at 9-9. The Mustangs, falling behind at 10-13, struggled to get around the maroon blocks. Slowly but surely Western began to chip away at the point difference, and were only behind by one at the technical timeout and soon tied the set at 17-17.
 
A point run from McMaster put them back in the lead at 17-21, as their blocks continued to trip up the Mustangs. Refocusing, the Mustangs rallied to force the Marauders into their own timeout at 23-23. Returning to the court, McMaster knocked out two quick points to end the set at 23-25.
 
Looking for a repeat of the second set, McMaster came out swinging and quickly built up a three-point lead over the Mustangs. Maintaining the difference at 6-9, McMaster continued to focus their efforts on blocking – as it had proven effective in earlier sets – and consistent serving so as not to give up any points.
 
With a stronger emphasis on defence and covering during attacks, the Mustangs eradicated the point deficit and matched the maroon score at 15. Outscoring the Mustangs, the Marauders pulled back into the lead and were two points ahead at 18-20.
 
Outscoring McMaster in the final points of the set, the Mustangs surpassed the defending OUA champions and closed out the set 25-21.
 
The Mustang momentum was still on high from the earlier set, as they led the Marauders 8-5 early on. At the technical time-out, Western still had the upper hand.
 
Although the Marauders managed to delay the purple and white victory by narrowing the point difference to five points, they couldn't prevent Candice Scott from ending the match with an ace.
 
Veltman topped the scoresheets of both teams, recording a total of 21 from 13 kills, three service aces, and five solo blocks. Following Veltman on the Mustangs scoresheet was Serena Smith who earned 14 points. Leading the Marauders was second year middle Maicee Sorenson, who totaled 14.5 points on the night.
 
The Mustangs will return to the court next weekend as they compete in the OUA Final Four Championship, beginning Friday, February 20. The championship will be hosted by the highest remaining seed in the West Division.