Western's recent five set thriller (25-15, 19-25, 25-14, 17-25, 15-5) over the Brock Badgers brings the purple and white winning streak to 11, a run unseen since the 2007-2008 season, and keeps the Mustangs reigning over the OUA West at 15-2.

Heading into the weekend the only OUA team to post a better record than Western are the 17-0 Varsity Blues who top the East division.

Sunday's game saw Kelsey Veltman put up the best offensive performance of the year. With 28 points from 19 kills, two service aces, five solo blocks and four assisted blocks, the 6-2 Brampton native dominated the floor and retained her spot as the OUA's top blocker.

Aja Gyimah, Western's leading ride side, came in behind with 15.5 points. As a left-handed attacker with a high-flying attack, Gyimah has been known to throw blockers off their game.

Keeping Western competitive in the back court has been rookie outside Emma Somerville. Over the last three games the Durham Rebels Volleyball Club graduate has stepped up as starting libero to record 29 digs.

While Western has continually risen above their opponents, the second half of the season began to show cracks in the purple and white play. Five sets of action were needed to top both Lakehead and Brock – both of whom are in the bottom half of the West. The Mustangs have proven that they can compete with the best after besting the nationally ranked Marauders, but at times appear to struggle with teams that don't force them into the highest bracket of play. 

Western at Toronto – Friday, February 19 at 8 p.m.

If the Mustangs only struggle with low ranked opponents, Friday's game should have them playing better than they ever have before. The CIS No. 2 Varsity Blues have only dropped two sets all year long, stumbling in the first matches of the season.

Those two sets are the closest thing to a blemish on Toronto's record, as all other 16 games have been swept in straight sets.

The Varsity Blues lead the OUA with 2.70 service aces per set, spelling trouble for the Mustangs who are among the league's top teams in reception errors. Rookie Alina Dormann leads Toronto from the baseline with 29 aces and only two games in which she wasn't able to find open floor. The native of Ottawa also leads the Blues at the net to average 3.15 kills and 4.1 points per set. 

Toronto will also look to middle Bojana Radan to challenge Western's game. The Mustangs have established themselves as a middle-centric offense, but Radan's status as the second best solo blocker in the CIS is likely to force setter Katherine Tsiofas to look elsewhere for points. With substantially lower assisted blocking numbers, Gyimah may become the go-to attacker.

Western at Ryerson – Saturday, February 20 at 6 p.m. - Watch live on OUA.tv

Closing out Western's regular season is a final game against the 12-5 Rams. Ryerson is narrowly holding on to second place in the East division, topping Ottawa by only one win after three consecutive losses. With playoffs just around the corner, the Rams will be looking to boost their record to maintain their position moving into the quarterfinals.  

The Rams boast the second most efficient offense in the OUA, behind only Toronto in kills per set and hitting percentage. Fourth year outside Veronica Livingston leads the effort at the net with 3.55 kills per set. Sophomore middle Theanna Vernon (2.89) and fifth-year outside Emily Nicholishen (2.26) are the only two other Rams to average two or more kills per set.

While Ryerson's team-wide digs per set is twelfth in the league (12.57), that doesn't necessarily mean that the Mustangs won't be challenged. Considering the strength of Rams at the net, it's likely that Ryerson keeps rallies short by sending out kills at an above average rate, cutting down on the number of times they have to pass up a returned ball.