LONDON, Ont. – Despite playing a hard fought match that saw Kelsey Veltman and Carly Kimmett dominate the court, the Mustangs were unable top the McMaster Marauders and eventually fell in four sets (21-25, 20-25, 25-23, 22-25).
 
The loss moves Western's record to 2-2, while the Marauders sit at 3-1.
 
The Mustangs and Marauders have been neck-in-neck for the last several seasons, battling for sole possession of first place in the OUA West. Last season saw the teams face off four times throughout the regular and post season with both teams coming out with an even two wins.
 
"Mac is a team we play a lot, we knew a lot about them and I think we went in thinking we knew everything," said Kelsey Veltman. "We go back and forth with them a lot. In the season we usually split with them in sets and games and they've taken us out in some big games and we've taken them out in big games."
 
It will come as no surprise to fans of the Mustangs that three-time All-Canadian Veltman was the highest scoring athlete on either side of the scoresheet, contributing 23.5 across the four sets. While the bulk of her points were the result of her attack, the 6-2 middle also recorded two aces, five solo blocks, and three assisted blocks.
 
Carly Kimmett was the second highest scoring Mustang on the floor, with 13 points despite being a permanent fixture on the court for only two sets.
 
"Carly hasn't trained in that position before," noted head coach Melissa Bartlett when describing Kimmett's performance. "It's amazing, she's been playing right side but we threw her in on the left side. Her blocking was exceptional, her passing was great and on offence she did a really good job. She's one of the most explosive athletes on our team and it was so great to se her have that success. She certainly made a difference for us."
 
Middle Maicee Sorensen led the McMaster offence, with 16 points from 10 kills, three aces, and six assisted blocks. 
 
The opening set saw the two teams neck and neck for the entirety of the game as they fought for control.
 
Langegger, Veltman, and Beedie took control at the net for the Mustangs, while fourth-year libero Courtney Sestric was the primary defender. The London native was integral in keeping the purple and white offence rolling as she continually provided setter Kat Tsiofas
 
Meanwhile, on the McMaster side of the floor Jedrzejewska was an offensive powerhouse and the primary threat on the floor regardless of where she was in rotation.
 
Tied at 20-20, the Marauders stepped up their blocking efforts to try to neutralize the purple and white attack and managed to shut down back to back attempts.
 
"Mac is a big team, they have big girls," noted Veltman. "All their players are above six feet, so having to get around that is tough if we're in system and make it obvious. It's about us having to spread out as hitters and move the setter around to keep [McMaster] off guard and not letting them know who is going to get set."
 
A pair of aces from Maicee Sorenson closed out the set, giving McMaster a 25-21 win.
 
Set two was equally as competitive as the first, with both teams focusing on their ability to defend at the net.
 
Veltman helmed the effort for Western and played a large role in breaking the point-for-point pattern that the two teams had settled into. The 6-2 middle combined with Beedie and Gyimah on a series of blocks that effectively neutralized the Marauder offence and sent the ball shooting back towards McMaster's side of the court.
 
McMaster relied on strong blocking as well, with Sorenson standing tall in the front row to earn points from her block and exploit holes in Western's coverage to help the team match the purple and white score at 13-13.
 
Jedrzejewska took control of the set from there, dominating from all areas of the court. In addition to serving as the primary attacker for McMaster, the Hamilton native also added two aces to scoresheet and proved herself to be one of the foremost defenders on the floor and led her team to a 25-20 victory.
 
Marauder middle Hailey Kranics picked up where Jedrzejewska left off to kick off the third set as one of the most notable athletes on the floor, quickly establishing an edge for McMaster and forcing the Mustangs into a timeout.
 
Bartlett's speech in the timeout seemed to be all the Mustangs needed to refocus, as they returned to the court with a new energy. Coming right out of the break, Tsiofas recorded the first of five consecutive purple and white points that saw the Mustangs operate at an efficiency unseen earlier in the match.
 
Arguably one of the biggest adjustments the Mustangs made was in changing the pace of their offence. The last few seasons have seen Western develop into an offensive force that relied on their opponent's inability to handle the firepower of Veltman and Gyimah, but the third set saw a return to precision attacking.
 
Kimmett, Veltman, Grasman, and Tsiofas focused on sending the ball just out of reach of the Marauder defence even though it occasionally meant that the ball would be slowed on its way to the target. Regardless, the new offensive strategy allowed the Mustangs to surpass the Marauders and secure a 25-23 victory and force a fourth set.
 
"Carly played amazing," said Veltman. "She came off that bench [in the third set] with so much confidence and just swung her heart out. It was amazing, and I've never seen her play so well. She's a really underestimated player but she came in and she lit it up."
 
Returning the the floor for the new set, Veltman and Kimmett served as Western's greatest assists in the front row. Both athletes made a series of smart plays that directly resulted in a purple and white point while also effectively reigning in the Marauder offense through strong blocking.
 
Defensively speaking, it was Kimmett who shouldered the burden and kept the Mustangs competitive, recording four digs throughout the set.
 
McMaster countered with the firepower of Sorensen and Jessie Nairn to keep the score tight and force a Mustangs timeout, but the brief interlude wasn't enough to slow the Marauder momentum.
 
Western would drop the fourth and final set of the afternoon following a double touch call, bringing the score to 22-25.  
 
The Mustangs are back in action next Friday, when they host the Windsor Lancers. Game time is set for 6 p.m., with fans able to catch all the action at Alumni Hall or live online at OUA.tv.
 
"When it comes down to it, at the end of the season there's a good chance that our records will be very close," said Bartlett. "Winning just a set today was really important for us for those tiebreakers in playoffs and hosting."