LONDON, Ont.– The Mustangs celebrated their home opener in style on Saturday night, topping the Brock Badgers in four sets (25-17, 19-25, 25-12, 25-13) at Alumni Hall.
With the win the Mustangs record moves to 2-1 in the season, while the loss puts Brock at 0-3.
"We really focused in on this match, because we knew it was important," said head coach
Jim Sage, "[Brock is] an improving team, and it's a big win for us."
Western was led offensively by
Evan Cranshaw and
Chris Newcombe as the pair recorded 14.5 and 12 points respectively. Cranshaw earned 14 kills over four sets for the Mustangs, while Brock's Tim Spisar came in with 14.5 points of his own with 11 total kills, followed by Logan House with 13 points.
Western came out strong in the first set, getting the early lead as Newcombe was strong for the Mustangs, tallying four kills and five digs to help Western win the set. The Mustangs generated a .394 hitting percentage in the opening frame, while the Badgers recorded a 0.57 mark, allowing the Mustangs to take 25-17 set win.
"We played fairly well in the first, I was pleased with the first set," said Sage.
The Mustangs fell to the Badgers in the second set, 25-19 as they looked like they might take it near the end.
Logan House was a strong force for Brock, getting six points in the set for the Badgers, with Tim Spisar right behind him with 5.5 points in the second. Brock had a .217 hitting percentage throughout the set, while Western came in with -.050.
"We got a little bit relaxed after the first set, thinking we could come out and win it, and that came back to bite us," said Cranshaw, adding that, "we were a little slow in the second, not very characteristic of our game, and we just got back at it in the third and fourth."
The third and fourth sets were huge for the Mustangs as they came out on top with big 25-12, and 25-13 set wins.
Western finished the third set with a game high .429 hitting percentage, as Brock closed out the set with -.167.
Towards the end of the fourth set,
Matt Stasiuk was moved into the lineup to support the team with strong serving, and earned three digs to help the Mustangs take the fourth and final set.
"I am so happy for him because he works so hard in practice and really doesn't get his dividends of his hard work," said Sage about Stasiuk's performance. "It gives us coaches the confidence that he can do that again. That's so important for guys that aren't on the starting squad to come in and contribute."
The Mustangs return to Alumni Hall tomorrow for an afternoon game against McMaster. Game time is set for 4 p.m., fans can catch the action live on OUA.tv.
