The Western Mustangs wrap up the first half of their season against Queen's on Saturday and RMC on Sunday with first place in the OUA West conference within arms reach.

This weekend is the finale to a five-game home stand, the longest stretch of home games the Mustangs will play all season. The purple and white have gone 2-1 so far on the home-stand with the loss coming against the top ranked McMaster Marauders. Two Western victories and a McMaster defeat at the hands of Toronto would put Western, at the very least, in a tie for first place atop the West conference. Although, the Marauders would still likely hold the edge in set differential. 

Western moved above .500 for the second time so far this season with a victory against the visiting Windsor Lancers last Friday. The Mustangs closed out the game strong, recovering after dropping the second set to win the following two sets and earn the win. Western was effective on the attack with a hitting percentage 10% higher than their season average including, a 47.8% hitting percentage in the opening set.

The Gaels, whom the Mustangs host at Alumni Hall on Saturday, have featured an effective attack all season. They rank first in the OUA in both kills per set and assists per set. As a result, they have posted the most points per set while only dropping six sets all season. They are also tough to break on the attack as they rank first in the OUA in digs per set and fifth in blocks per set.

Queen's is also carrying momentum heading into Saturday's matchup having won their last three challenges. The Gaels have consistently dominated on the attack in their recent string of games, posting a repeating hitting percentage of 30% in all.

Western greets RMC at Alumni Hall the following evening. The Paladins have struggled as of late, dropping their last five matches and 14 of their last 15 total sets. The team has shown flashes of brilliance despite their poor track record; they held Queen's to a below 7.9% hitting percentage in the first set of their last match and have posted a hitting percentage of their own greater than 30% in several individual sets in other matches. However, these moments have not been consistent enough to snap their skid. RMC has been held to a hitting percentage below 20% overall in each match since their season opener.

The Paladins have been able to win points on their serve which is tied for first in the OUA in service aces per set. Although, Western has held their opponents to six or fewer service aces in all of their games so far this season.