WINDSOR, Ont. – In their first regular season game since the winter break, the Western Mustangs picked up right where they left off in November, taking a straight sets (25-23, 25-20, 25-17) win over the Windsor Lancers on Sunday afternoon at the St. Denis Centre.
With the win the Mustangs continue their undefeated season, improving to 9-0 on the year and maintaining their spot atop the OUA West Division. The Lancers record now stands at 3-5, good for fifth in the West.
Kelsey Veltman led the Mustangs offence on Sunday, recording 16.5 points off of 13 kills and four blocks, while also adding five digs.
Aja Gyimah followed with 10.5 points, with
Taylor Beedie recording a season-high seven points.
Erin Epema topped the Lancers scoresheet with 12 points, including seven in the second set, with 10 kills and two aces. Carleigh Bailey showed why she's leading the OUA in digs per set, recording 20 digs to lead all players.
The Lancers put the Mustangs in something of an unfamiliar position in the first set, forcing the purple and white to play from behind for a large portion of the first. The two teams traded points throughout the early going, however the Lancers began to pull away towards the middle of the set, scoring four straight points to head into the technical timeout with a 16-12 lead over the Mustangs.
Windsor further increased their lead to 19-13 coming out of the timeout, however the Mustangs then began to storm back, taking advantage of attack errors from the Lancers to close things out with a 12-4 run to take the first set 25-23.
Western carried that momentum over into the second frame, starting things off with a 5-2 lead, before extending that to a 16-13 advantage at the technical timeout.
Western returned from the timeout and increased their lead to five thanks to back-to-back kills from Gyimah. The two teams traded points throughout the remainder of the set until
Candice Scott finished things off with her fourth kill of the frame to take it 25-20 for the Mustangs.
It was all Mustangs in the final set, as the purple and white took control of the floor, recording a .379 hitting percentage while limiting the Lancers to a .045 success rate. Veltman recorded six of her 16.5 points in the set, while Gyimah followed with five points of her own.
After the two teams played to a 5-5 tie to begin the set the Mustangs took over from there, taking a 16-9 lead at the technical timeout en route to a 25-17 win to take the match in straight sets.
Next up for the Mustangs is a rematch with the McMaster Marauders on Saturday, January 21. The Mustangs will be looking to repeat the success they had in their final game of the first half, when they topped the Marauders in straight sets at Alumni Hall. Game time for next Saturday's matchup is set for 12 p.m. in Hamilton, and can be seen live on OUA.tv.
