Box Score LONDON, Ont. – Rookie Carly Kimmett made her OUA debut Friday evening at Alumni Hall, and immediately made an impact as the second highest scoring Mustang in the team's 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-21) sweep of the Guelph Gryphons.
 
"I think we did way better than in our first game," said Kimmett about the team's performance. "We came out with a lot of confidence and just overall presence to the court. We really played like Western Mustangs today."
 
Two time All-Canadian Kelsey Veltman led the Mustangs in points, totalling 19 with 12 kills, three aces, two solo blocks, and two assisted blocks. Kimmett followed with ten points, while also recording the second highest number of digs.
 
"She definitely didn't play like a first year," said head coach Melissa Bartlett when discussing Kimmett's play. "She's going to be exciting to watch as we go through."
 
After a messy start that was similar to last week, the Mustangs bounced back into familiar form and began to take control of the set.
 
Strong serving was arguably the cornerstone of the set, with only three missed serves on the part of the Mustangs. Veltman recorded three aces in the first frame also, while Kimmett added another two to the total.
 
Victoria Bolebiowski was the Gryphon best able to find open floor, recording just two kills. The leading Mustangs, however, picked up four and three kills respectively in the first set with Veltman and Kimmett leading the pack. As a point of reference, Veltman alone totalled the same number of kills as the entire Gryphon roster.
 
The high-powered purple and white attack carried the Mustangs all the way to a 25-16 first set win.
 
The second set saw Veltman and Kimmett continue to be the preferred targets for setter Kat Tsiofas, with Veltman topping the scoresheet with three kills.
 
"Kat really stood out today," noted Kimmett. "She always brings her 'A' game and always puts great balls up for us to swing on. […] Her covering was great today. I always felt good about hitting when she was covering me."
 
It also saw an eight-point run in which Western and Guelph traded service and attack errors. Unforced errors appeared to be the Achilles heel of the Gryphons as the Mustangs earned numerous second set side-outs from Guelph struggling to keep the ball within the boundaries of the court.
 
With the Gryphons struggling not to drop unearned points, Western returned to the consistent serving and targeted attacks that allowed them to top Ryerson last week. The set ended with the Mustangs able to boast a nine-point margin of victory, with the final score coming in at 25-16.
 
Moving into the third set, Guelph continued to falter with service errors, while both teams saw an increase in blocking errors.
 
Rallies became increasingly longer, with Kimmett and Courtney Sestric absorbing most of the hits. With the two of them leading the team in the backcourt with stable passing, the Mustangs routinely had all offensive options available.
 
Although it briefly appeared like the Gryphons were going to make a triumphant comeback after stringing together enough points to bring the score within two, the Mustangs surged back ahead. Helping push Western to the 25-point mark was the service and attack errors that had plagued Guelph all evening long.
 
"I think we were able to maintain our level [of play] today, and Guelph as a team made some uncharacteristic errors. We were able to stay ahead; I think we had the lead in every set after five. That's our goal – be first to five and then maintain that lead."
 
With a final kill from Melissa Langegger, the Mustangs secured the third set and the victory by a score of 25-21.
 
The Mustangs will be back on the court Sunday, when they host the Waterloo Warriors at Alumni Hall. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.