Returning to the floor after a disappointing end to 2015 that saw the Mustangs go 1-5 in the final stretch, Western continued to struggle at the annual York Excalibur Tournament where they placed third with only
Doug Austrom picking up a spot on the tournement's All-Star team.
Entering into the second half of the schedule, the Mustangs will battle through a series of rematches against Waterloo and Windsor with the goal of moving up the standings into a playoff position.
Third year
Gavin Taylor continues to lead the Mustangs as he has since the opening match. Western's greatest offensive threat on the floor, the third year Kinesiology student has raked in 150 points to average 4.1 per set.
However, in recent matches other athletes have begun to edge into the spotlight, with
Evan Cranshaw, Austrom, and
Mike Choja all making an impression on the court.
Libero
Seth Siegfried remains the most valuable defensive player for the team, averaging a team high 2.11 digs per set, while former OUA All-Rookie honouree
Matt Hooker pulls it all together as starting setter.
Western vs. Waterloo – Saturday, January 16 at 3 p.m.– Watch live on OUA.tv While previously sitting near the top of the OUA with a 7-4 record, a recent review forced the Warriors into forfeiting a number of games throughout the first half of the season to drop them down to 3-8. Waterloo now sits tenth in the league, above only RMC.
Previous to the review, the Warriors put together a a six-win hot streak, including their three set sweep of the Mustangs, before closing out 2015 with a loss to Queen's to sit fourth overall with a 7-4 season record.
The previous matchup of Western and Waterloo saw the purple and white serve fall apart, with the team picking up 18 errors throughout just three sets to essentially hand the Warriors a victory. Further tripping up the Mustangs were libero Erich Wooley and London native Aidan Simone. The duo controlled and led the defensive effort to trip up the Mustang attack.
Offensively the Warriors are led by third year Braden Cok, whose 193.5 points put him in the top three provincially. Aidan Simone comes in behind with 121.5 to average 2.8.
Simone, along with his brother Greg Simone, lead the team in service aces with 12.
Also giving the Warriors an edge is their resilience and ability to match the level of play posed by their opponent. Waterloo remains the only team in the OUA – including the higher ranked Queen's and Ryerson – to push McMaster into extra sets.
Western vs. Windsor – Sunday, January 17 at 3 p.m.– Watch live on OUA.tv With a 2-8 record heading into the weekend for tenth in the OUA, it may appear that Windsor isn't much of a threat. However, in their final match of 2015 the Lancers posted a five-set takedown of the Ryerson Rams for their second win.
Making few substitutions, the Lancers relied on their starting line throughout all five sets. With few errors on the board, playing safe allowed Windsor to overcome one of the OUA's toughest opponents.
The offensive power on Windsor's half of the court comes from their middles, with Josh Edwards and John Moate leading the charge. Edwards leads the entire team in points, picking up 120.5 points to average 3.3 per set. Moate follows close behind with 86.5 to average 2.4.
