The Mustangs capped off their regular season campaign with a three set victory over the Rams last Saturday to maintain their grip in first place in the West with a 16-3 record. To date, the only teams to best Western are Queen's, McMaster, and the reigning OUA champions in the Varsity Blues.

Throughout the regular season Western's power was largely concentrated through the middle and relied heavily upon Kelsey Veltman, Candice Scott, and Danielle Grasman. The trio – all hitting the six-foot mark in height – have been key in propelling Western over some of their toughest opponents. With 230 solo and 186 assisted blocks on the books for 2015-16, the Mustangs are the strongest blockers in the province – a fact that becomes very clear to every opponent.

In addition to leading the CIS in blocks per set (1.32), Veltman has also been the powerhouse behind Western's offensive effort this season. Despite missing a few games in the first half of the season due to injury, the Brampton native is the top attacker on the roster with an average of 3.15 kills per set and a .339 hitting percent that is only bested by one athlete nation-wide.

Standing around five inches below Veltman at 5-9 is the second half of Western's game-winning offence. Aja Gyimah, a leftie hitting on the right, pulls in 3.06 kills per set.

The strength of the Mustangs at the net can best be discerned through their digging stats. Despite finding victory in all but three games this season, the purple and white backcourt defence statistically ranks 13th in the OUA with 12.24 digs per set. While Western has a roster packed of phenomenal passers – led by OUA All-Rookie Courtney Sestric and veteran Serena Smith - the strength of the offence forces shorter rallies that give opponents few opportunities to return the ball.

Where the Mustangs often misstep, however, is on the serve. What began as a season characterized by strong purple and white serves slowly devolved to result in Western becoming the second most erroneous team in the league.

Unforced errors on the serve and elsewhere will have to go out the window if the Mustangs are expecting to improve upon last season's third place OUA finish.

Western vs. Guelph – Saturday, February 27 at 2 p.m. – Watch live on OUA. tv

The first team in the way of Western's first provincial banner since 2011 are the 9-10 Guelph Gryphons in a repeat of last season's bronze medal match.

After a straight sweep (25-19, 25-21, 25-17) of the Gryphons in their first meeting early in the season, the Mustangs saw a more fiery and resilient side of Guelph in January. The game was marked down as a purple and white victory at 3-1 (25-27, 27-25, 25-14, 25-23) but Western saw an uncharacteristically slow start and struggled to maintain focus.

Third-year Maddie Dedecker led the offence against the Mustangs in their most recent contest, but senior Becky Breau has had a firm grasp on the title of point leader for the entire season. In missing only one set throughout the 2015-16 campaign, Breau has recorded 229.5 points from 191 kills, 21 service aces, and 32 total blocks.

The London native can be expected to be especially fired up for the game, as it'll be her final chance to help the Gryphons capture an OUA medal.  Throughout her previous four seasons Guelph has twice made it into the Final Four tournament only to have third place snatched away.

Kristen Almhjell might be the key to Guelph's success this year, after strong passing from the Gryphon contingent played a large role in nearly tripping up the Mustangs. Her backcourt performance in January's matchup was noticeably challenging Western's offence as she pushed rallies far beyond their usual length.  The 5-7 libero leads the OUA in both total digs and digs per set, while recording the fourth best numbers in Canada for the latter.

After falling to Western twice this season – on top of being edged out by the Mustangs in last season's playoffs – the Gryphons will undoubtedly come out swinging on Saturday as they look to reach the Final Four tournament for the third time in as many years.