TORONTO – Momentum was traded back and forth multiple times throughout the Mustangs contest with Toronto, but after an action packed five sets the Varsity Blues came out on top (18-25, 31-29, 29-31, 25-19, 11-15) on Friday night at the Goldring Centre.
 
Western's record now sits at 10-9 as they remain tied for fifth place with Waterloo. Toronto's win has the Varsity in fourth place, and it also them homecourt advantage for the first round of playoffs for the first time since 2003-2004. 
 
After reaching a new career high in last week's matchup with RMC, Evan Cranshaw found himself back on top of the scoresheet setting a new milestone with 23 points. His 18 kills and two solo blocks were bolstered by an unmatched three service aces.
 
Veteran middle Mike Choja followed with 18 points to match his all-time high achieved earlier this month, while setter Matt Hooker was the team's greatest defensive asset with a new career high of 21 digs.  
 
William Colucci and Stephan Ristic paved the way to success for the Varsity Blues with 21 and 20 points on the night.
 
The Mustangs started off slow to drop the first set 18-25, only to make a strong return in the second to push through additional points and even the score with a 31-29 victory. The third set also required extra points, however this time the Mustangs came out on the losing end, falling 29-31.
 
The fourth set saw the cleanest win by the Mustangs at 25-19, but they were unable to hold onto the momentum into the fifth as Toronto closed out the game at 11-15.
 
Western returns to the court tomorrow night to take on the Ryerson Rams in the Mattamy Athletic Centre at 8 p.m. in the final regular season contest for both teams. Live streaming of the game will be available on OUA.tv.