TORONTO – The Western Mustangs are moving on to the OUA Final after taking down the previously undefeated Toronto Varsity Blues in five sets (25-20, 17-25, 25-22, 20-25, 16-14) in an OUA Semifinal matchup on Friday night at the Goldring Centre.
The win not only sends the Mustangs to the gold medal game for the first time since 2011, but also secures the team a spot at the U SPORTS Championship and ends the Varsity Blues regular season and playoff game winning streak at 45 games.
Kelsey Veltman earned Player of the Match honours for the Mustangs, scoring 24.5 points off of 19 kills, two aces, three solo blocks and one assisted block.
Aja Gyimah was next up for Western with 13 points, while
Candice Scott followed with 10.5.
Alina Dormann led the way for the Varsity Blues, tallying 26 points in the loss. Anna Feore, who was named Toronto's Player of the Match, recorded 21.5 points for the home side, with Anna Licht adding 15.5.
The Varsity Blues took an early lead to start off the first set, but were unable to ride it to the 25-point mark. Western spent most of the set playing catch-up, only really breaking out for the final points of the frame.
Serving was a particular point of strength for the Varsity Blues, as both Dormann and Feore challenged the Mustangs and made it difficult for to land a pass that allowed setter
Kat Tsiofas to utilize all of the team's offensive options.
The duo also took the majority of swings on the ball to keep the Toronto score moving up, and make the purple and white block work to their advantage. After the top hitters on the Varsity Blues half of the floor started getting shut down, they adjusted to make that the ball either cleared Western's wall, or hit Mustang hands before heading out of bounds.
Tia Miric and
Aja Gyimah got the Mustangs back on track late in the set, with Miric continuing to be one of the most valuable passers on the roster and Gyimah flying all over the court to record key blocks, digs, and kills.
Gyimah led the team through the final points of the set to take a 25-20 victory over the Varsity Blues.
Toronto stormed back in the second set to double the Mustangs at the technical, and take the set with an eight-point cushion.
The biggest difference between sets one and two was arguably the improved efficiency of the Varsity Blues offence. Their hitting percentage shot up as Dormann gained speed throughout the set and continually found the line.
Long rallies kept both teams scrambling, but it was Toronto who most frequently came out on top. After dropping the first, the Varsity Blues upped their game in set two for a 25-17 win.
Set three saw the Mustangs respond to the loss by overpowering every aspect of the Varsity Blues game to take the game by a score of 25-22.
The Mustangs relied on Veltman and fifth-year veteran
Candice Scott to generate points, with both middles executing a near-perfect slide attack at every opportunity.
For most of the set that was all Western needed to keep the Blues at bay, but a sudden comeback started mounting the closer the Mustangs moved to their 25th point. Lineup changes forced the Mustangs to defend against some unfamiliar hitters, while Toronto's blocking was the most consistent it had been all evening.
A late surge wasn't enough to secure a comeback for the host side though, and the Mustangs topped Toronto by three to take a 2-1 lead.
Feore led the Blues through the early points of the fourth set to help built up a five-point lead, but the Mustangs would even the score at 17-17.
Western's offence was reading the Blues half of the court and consistently putting the ball just out of reach. The usual powerhouses kept swinging hard one the ball, but also added in a few more tips to keep Toronto's defence guessing.
The Varsity Blues responded with a five-point run of their own, to swing back ahead and take the set 25-20.
Toronto opened the fifth set with a commanding five-point run that riled up the home crowd and put them in a prime position to win the race to 15. However, the Mustangs weren't willing to give up their chance for an OUA banner without a fight.
Veltman and Scott earned the bulk of the points that brought the Mustangs within one at 9-10, with Tsiofas setting both of them up perfectly to get the team out of a jam. A technical violation on the part of the Blues brought the score to 14-14, and the Mustangs quickly closed out the set to take a 16-14 win.
The Mustangs are back on the court tomorrow night at 8 p.m., to take on the McMaster Marauders for the OUA title. Fans can tune in to all the action live on OUA.tv.
