LONDON, Ont. – An 18-point performance from Bryn Ramsay helped lead the Western Mustangs to a four set (25-17, 20-25, 25-18, 25-20) win over the Windsor Lancers on Friday night at Alumni Hall.
 
"We came out strong, I was pleased with the first set, but we struggled a little in the second set," said Mustangs head coach Jim Sage. "We bounced back in the third, we started to dictate play a little bit and control the match."
 
Both teams are now 3-2 on the season, and sit in a four-way tie for second place in the OUA West Division standings.
 
Ramsay topped the Mustangs scoresheet with 18 total points, while also racking up 22 digs. Zeid Hamadeh also contributed to the offensive output with 15 points, while captain Matt Hooker registerd 51 assists, making smart decisions on the floor to lead the Mustangs to victory.
 
Meanwhile, the Lancers relied on Pierce Johnson and Brad Gyemi to generate points, with each athlete contributing 16 across four sets.
 
"It was pretty steady the whole way thorough, Windsor was up and down a bit, but I think we probably stayed as close to neutral as possible," said Hamadeh. "Just thinking about the losses we've had, specifically to Windsor in our preseason twice, really motivated the guys to stay level headed and not get ahead of ourselves."
 
The Mustangs got off to a strong start, claiming the first set by a decisive score of 25-17. The Lancers struggled with attacking errors throughout the set, while the Mustangs recorded only three.
 
Western's attack was composed and ready to capitalize on Windsor's mistakes, allowing them to jump out to an early lead which they maintained throughout the set. The Mustangs attack was calculated and precise, striking with 82% accuracy.
 
The purple and white offensive effort was diverse, with Hooker spreading out attack opportunities to allow six different Mustangs to send the ball over the net.
 
Western was also sound defensively, responding to the Lancers attack with strong blocking, and making solid first contact.
 
Set two was more closely contested, with the teams exchanging points before the Lancers broke the pattern to jump into an early lead. The Mustangs responded by matching Windsor's score at 11-11, before falling back into the familiar pattern of trading points back and forth.
 
Despite the tight start, the Lancers would run away with the set to claim a 25-20 victory over Western.
 
Windsor exploited the strong purple and white blockers, deflecting the ball off of Mustang hands and out of bounds. The Mustangs attack centered mostly on Ramsay, who sent the ball over the net 14 times throughout the set.
 
Both teams played strong defensive games, but issues with the purple and white serve prevented the Mustangs score from surpassing that of the Lancers.
 
Windsor maintained their momentum moving into the third set, taking a 6-3 lead early on.
 
The Mustangs slowed down the Lancers, creeping back into the set to tie the Lancers at 9. The purple and white took the lead at the technical timeout, before exploding in the second half of the set for another decisive 25-18 win.
 
Western's serving continued to struggle, with the team notching seven service errors throughout the set.
 
The purple and white blockers managed to adjust to the Windsor attack strategy, adding four blocks throughout the set, and boasting several more that resulted in continuous play.
 
"I thought we blocked okay, especially as the match went on," said Sage. "We need to be a little more dominant in that position earlier on in sets, but if we're getting digs off of roll shots because our block is there, then that's important."
 
The offensive game plan once against showcased the depth of the Mustangs, as Hooker prevented the attempts from being predictable by utilizing the strengths of Hamadeh, Evan Cranshaw, and Ramsay.
 
"I thought Matt [Hooker] was excellent," said Sage when asked about the performance of the four-year veteran. "I thought he took advantage of what they were giving us, and spread the offence out and gave everyone a chance to contribute and it kept them off balance."
 
The fourth and final set of the evening saw the two teams continue to wrestle for momentum, with neither being able to establish a substantial lead.
 
The Lancers once again struggled with errors, with a lack of communication between athletes resulting in a handful of unearned points that went towards the Mustang total.  
 
In addition to collecting points from the mistakes of Windsor, the Mustangs were dominant in their own right. Hooker led the team to victory through careful play calling that exploited weak spots in the Lancer game while also showcasing purple and white strengths that would allow the team to capture a 25-20 victory to take the match.
 
The Mustangs will be back in action this Friday at Alumni hall at 8 p.m., when they will renew their rivalry with the Queen's Gaels.