Tied for fifth place in the OUA with Waterloo at 10-8, the weekend's upcoming games will determine where the Mustangs fall in the playoff bracket.

A series of injuries have forced changes in the starting line, with the game against Queen's seeing only three of the original line on the floor while RMC saw four. The Mustangs have found success in pulling from the bench, with Bryn Ramsay and Evan Cranshaw both standing out.

Ramsay took on a spot in the starting lineup in the New Year and quickly found a comfortable spot at the top of the scoresheet. Since moving into his new role, he's recorded an average of 3.2 points per set. Cranshaw, in Sunday's contest against RMC, recorded a new career high while also topping the scoresheet with 17 points.

Meanwhile, veteran Mike Choja has steadily moved towards the top of the scoresheet to lead Western in total points. Hitting .185 after a three set sweep of RMC, the 6-7 middle will look to close out the regular season by being the first of the team to round the .200 mark.

In order to top the weekend's competition and find themselves competitive throughout playoffs, the Mustangs will need to tighten up their serve reception. 110 errors have ben amassed throughout the previous 18 games to make Western's reception the weakest statistically within the OUA.

Western vs Toronto – Friday February 19 at 6 p.m.

There's no question that the Varsity Blues will be fired up when they welcome the Mustangs to the Goldring Centre. Not only have they recorded wins in their last three games, but one of those were taken off the previously CIS No. 1 McMaster Marauders.

The five set epic (24-26, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23, 15-10) is the first game the Marauders have dropped all season. While a number of their top players didn't see the floor, that won't change the excitement of the Varsity Blue roster in finally besting Ontario's top team.

With their 11-7 record, Toronto sits above Western in fourth place in the OUA.

The last time Western and Toronto faced off the Mustangs struggled at the net. The Varsity Blues lead the OUA in solo blocks as well as both digging categories, a fact that became evident right from the first rally. Even when Western put the ball over the net, the Varsity Blues had someone already in position to pick it up.

Freshman libero Andrew Kos's 166 digs lead the team, averaging 2.68 per set. Setter Aleksa Miladinovic adds 2.24 digs per set, while right side William Colucci pitches in another 2.05 to round out the back court effort.

Western vs Ryerson – Saturday February 20 at 8 p.m.– Watch live at OUA.tv 

After losing their most recent two games to drop into third in the standings below Queen's with 12-6, the Rams will be looking to finish the regular season on a high note.

A strong start to the year saw Ryerson go 8-2 to head into the December break. However, since the calendar flipped to January they've struggled to keep that same pace, splitting their record evenly at 4-4. 

The Rams rely on their outside attackers for kills, preferring their middles to shine through efforts in blocking. Lucas Coleman reigns supreme on the Rams' scoresheet, topping the roster with 286.5 total points and 3.92 kills per set. The second most lethal attacker on the roster is Robert Wojcik, with 3.03 kills per set.

One of Ryerson's greatest strengths is also arguably their greatest weakness. The Rams sit behind only McMaster in the number of service aces generated – both total numbers and per set – which is undoubtedly going to be a problem for the Mustangs. However, Ryerson also leads the OUA in service errors. As Western has experienced, sometimes a missed serve at a key moment is all it takes for momentum to change.