WATERLOO, Ont. – Earlier in the season the Mustangs battled through five sets to top the Warriors, but Saturday evening's contest saw them sweep Waterloo in straight sets (25-15, 25-18, 25-22) to continue reigning atop the OUA West Division.
 
Kelsey Veltman led both sides of the scoresheet with 16.5 points after recording seven kills, and five aces, while also adding another 4.5 points off of blocks. Fellow middle Danielle Grasman followed with 11.5 points, also recording seven kills along with three aces, and 1.5 blocks.
 
Claire Mackenzie's eight kills and two aces led Waterloo's half of the scoresheet, while Kayla Wierts followed with 7.5.
 
Western's record now sits at 13-1 with only five games remaining in the regular season, while the Warriors fall to 8-7.
 
The Mustangs had the first set comfortably in their pockets within just minutes of opening up the game. They quickly pushed Waterloo into a six-point deficit that would prove to be insurmountable. At best, the Warriors were able to bring the game within four.
 
Western concentrated power through the middle to maintain the lead, allowing both Veltman and Grasman to shine offensively. The duo led the team throughout the set while Courtney Sestric picked up whatever the Warriors were able to return.
 
The Warriors had nearly as much success in waiting for the Mustangs to make an error mid-rally as they did finding holes in the defensive coverage. Mackenzie had a solid first set that saw her anchor Waterloo's offensive game, but her singular performance wasn't enough to combat Western's performance in the first set, with Grasman bringing things to an end with a kill to take the frame 25-15.
 
Returning for the second set, Western continued to dominate the court.
 
A five-point lead was established early on as the Warriors struggled with accuracy in their attack and serving. The Mustangs weren't immune to the lapse in focus however, as back-to-back servers sent the ball into the net.
 
After Waterloo began chipping away at the purple and white lead, Western responded with an overwhelming display of consistency towards the end of the set, recording only one unforced attack error following the technical timeout. Aja Gyimah was one of the most consistent hitters, and closed out the set with a pair of kills for a 25-18 win.
 
Set three saw the most competitive volleyball of evening, with Waterloo matching the Mustangs point-for-point before eventually establishing their first lead of the night.
 
Serving was initially how the Warriors combated a Mustangs corps that has gone largely unchallenged all season long. Mackenzie and Ibbotson both found success from the base line to push Western out of system and force a scrambled response.
 
Western went into the technical time-out with a two-point lead, but the game would soon be tied again at 17-17. However, that would be the final deadlock of the game as the Mustangs slowly began to claw their way out of the point-for-point pattern to eventually take the set 25-22.
 
The Mustangs will return to the court tomorrow - Sunday, February 13 - for a rematch against the Gryphons in the new completed Guelph Gryphon Athletics Centre. The first serve is scheduled to be sent out at 12 p.m., with fans able to catch all the action live on OUA.tv.