THUNDER BAY, Ont. – Last week interim head coach Heather Brinkman had a simple prediction for the doubleheader against Lakehead: "Win and win."
 
After a five-set thriller to kick off the weekend on Friday night, the Mustangs delivered a three-set sweep (25-15, 25-14, 25-23) of the Thunderwolves at the C.J. Fieldhouse on Saturday night to fulfill Brinkman's expectations.
 
With just seven games remaining in the regular season, the Mustangs sit at 10-2 to match CIS no. 6 McMaster for first place in OUA West with 20 points apiece. The Thunderwolves, sporting a 5-9 record, remain in fifth place.
 
Kelsey Veltman continued to dominate the floor, topping both sides of the scoresheet with 14.5 points. Serena Smith came in at 11.5 while Aja Gyimah posted 9.0.
 
Lakehead was led by left side Kailan Robinson with 12.0 points while Leah Mousseau came in just behind at 8.0.
 
Early on in the first set Western was in full and complete control of the game, just as they had been in the previous night's matchup.
 
Strong serving and targeted attacks challenged Lakehead's defence, which was unable to land a good first touch on the ball for much of the opening set. Western cruised through the entire set, only temporarily slowed point by point interruptions from the Thunderwolves on their way to a 25-15 win.
 
Despite the ten-point difference from the earlier set the Thunderwolves were able to stay tight to the Mustang score and prevent a substantial deficit early on in the second.
 
Improving the first touch off both serves and attacks, Lakehead was finally able to utilize the strength of Sara Potter at the net. One of the few Thunderwolves able to find ways around the hands of Mustang blockers, the Kitchener native proved to be the biggest offensive threat to a purple and white victory on Saturday.
 
However, without a standout defender, the Thunderwolves continued to struggle to respond to Gyimah and Veltman at the net, as well as to Veltman's often unreturnable spin serve. As Western continued to gain momentum through tireless attacks, the Thunderwolves shrank back as opposed to thriving as they did in Friday's game.
 
Western quickly closed out the set at 25-14 to be up by two.
 
The third set opened with yet another point run from Western that saw the Thunderwolves turning and watching balls drop into open floor more often than getting hands on them. After a missed Mustang serve, Lakehead pounced on the opportunity to capitalize on strong serving of their own to match Western's score and take the lead for the first time in the game.
 
With leading blocker Veltman cycled into the backrow, Lakehead's Kailan Robinson finally had the opportunity to supply her team with some much-needed firepower, taking the majority of sets from Vanessa Masters.
 
However, 6-2 Veltman's return to the front court spelled the end of the Lakehead comeback. Together with Smith, she helped shut down the revitalized Thunderwolves to close out the final set at 25-23.
 
The Mustangs return to the floor next week on Friday and Saturday for home court matchups against the nationally ranked McMaster Marauders, and the Guelph Gryphons.