LONDON, Ont. – A 19.5 point performance from Kelsey Veltman carried the Western Mustangs over the Lakehead Thunderwolves in four sets (25-14, 19-25, 25, 12, 25-14) on Friday evening, allowing Western to continue their reign over the OUA West as one of two undefeated teams.

The 6-0 purple and white record is matched only by McMaster in the West, with Toronto serving as the only team in the East with an unblemished record. Lakehead, for their part, moves to 0-7 on the season.

"I think we did a great job of controlling the game for most of it," said Kat Tsiofas about the team's performance. "Obviously we had that blip in the second set, but we did a good job of controlling the score and errors on our side in sets one, three, and four."

"We played really well technically," added Veltman. "We've been struggling with serve receive lately and with some hitting but I think we really pulled it together today."

Veltman continued her campaign for a third straight All-Canadian nod after her match-high 19.5 points, while Aja Gyimah continued to dominate from the right side with 13 points.

Lakehead relied on Kailan Robinson and Leah Mousseau to generate points with the pairing adding 19 and 9.5, respectively, to the Thunderwolves total.

The Mustangs didn't give Lakehead a chance to build up any momentum in the first set, hammering out a rapid 16 points while the Thunderwolves could only manage four.

Gyimah was the favourite target of setter Tsiofas, but Veltman and Carly Kimmett were the most successful in finding open floor. Both registered four kills in the opening set, with Kimmett ending with 100% on attacks.

A first-year athlete hailing from Calgary, Kimmett has played an increasingly important role for the Mustangs. The last few games have seen her put up some of the highest point totals, in addition to being one of the most consistent players on the roster when it comes to passing.

It wasn't until Western rounded the 20-point mark that Lakehead began to fight back. Careful line policing and regained focus helped the struggling Thunderwolves outscore the Mustangs, but it wasn't enough to stop a purple and white victory, with Candice Scott closing things out at 25-14.

The Thunderwolves contingent that hit the floor for set two hardly resembled the team that dropped the first set. Gone were the unforced errors and timid play at the net, and for the first time in the match Lakehead was able to challenge the Mustangs.

But just as the energy on the Thunderwolves half of the court was reaching it's peak, the Mustangs were struggling. Head coach Melissa Bartlett had used both timeouts before the purple and white score reached 15, and at times it seemed like more balls were landing outside the confines of the court than inside.

"It's something we have to work on," said assistant coach Heather Brinkman about the team's focus. "Volleyball is a game of momentum shifts, and when you beat a team like that you kind of go back on your heels and expect it to just happen. […] We need to focus. It was all our side. They're a good team. They played well and we need to give them that respect, and not just expect things to happen for us."

A four-point run stalled the Thunderwolves at the 24-point mark briefly, but Lakehead eventually hit their mark at 25-19

Just as they did in the opening set, the Mustangs built up a steady lead early in the third relying on Veltman and Kimmett at the net. The duo were also among the most accurate Mustangs on the court.

Tsiofas, Melissa Langegger, and Candice Scott absorbed the brunt of attacks coming from Lakehead in the backcourt, but it was the coverage of the entire team that sent the attack percentages of leading Thunderwolves Robinson and Mousseau plummeting.

With the entire team working as a single unit, the Mustangs cruised to an easy 25-12 victory.

For the first time all match, the fourth set began as as even battle between the two teams. Previous sets saw substantial point differentials minutes into the game, but the Mustangs held only a narrow one-point lead after rounding the ten-point mark.

The Thunderwolves seemed to falter after losing the race to ten, with Western only allowing an additional five points on their way to the win.

Gyimah saved her best for the final set, propelling the Mustangs ahead with two aces and four kills to help bring the score to 25-14.

"Aja did a great job," noted Tsiofas. "Whenever we were out of system I knew I could give her the ball and she was always able to put it away."

Western is back on the court tomorrow, to again host the Thunderwolves and pick up their seventh win of the season.

"It's challenging mentally," said Tsiofas about the back-to-back matchups. "Lakehead's used to it, they play all teams back-to-back and it's something we do once a year. It's difficult to reset, refocus, and then play the same team. We're going to watch film tomorrow, make some adjustments based on what we did well and didn't do well today, and I'm sure we can do well tomorrow."