TORONTO – The Mustangs closed out the 2016-17 season ranked among the best teams in the nation, finishing sixth overall at the U SPORTS Championship after a loss to Dalhousie (22-25, 20-25, 24-26).
 
"I'm super proud of our team," said captain and fifth-year veteran Candice Scott about the team's finish. "We had an amazing year, and couldn't have made our season go any longer. This is the last possible day we could have played on, and we got to be here to represent Western. I'm proud of that."
 
"Really it was about who had more guts, and I think they just had a bit more than we did today out there," added head coach Melissa Bartlett. "We didn't finish playing our best, but I think as a team we really elevated our level of performance not only physically but mentally over the playoffs. We have a lot to be proud of there."
 
Courtney Sestric and Dalhousie setter Abby Czenze were awarded Player of the Game honours, while Kelsey Veltman recorded a game-high 18 points to lead all players.
 
Three of Dalhousie's athletes hit double digits, with Mieke DuMont's 15 points leading the group. Anna Dunn-Suen and Courtney Baker followed with 13.5 and 12.5 points respectively.
 
Blocking quickly took centre stage as the two teams battled for dominance at the net. Western's typically high-powered offence was muted by the threat of DuMont and Lauren Koskowich at the net, while being forced to pass the ball off a block forced the team out of system.
 
The Mustangs are known as the preeminent blocking threat in the OUA, and they more than lived up to their reputation. In addition to the four blocks that appeared on the stat sheet, several more were continued by the Tigers to extend rallies.
 
Dalhousie would use their blocking to eventually take the first set by a score of 25-22.
 
Set two saw the Tigers come from seven points back to take the lead at the technical, where they would remain for the remainder of the set.
 
A five-point performance from Anna Dunn-Suen led Dalhousie, paired with a solid serving streak from Courtney Baker. She recorded back-to-back aces, while the following serve forced the Mustangs to return a free ball.
 
DuMont continued to dominate at the net alongside Koskowich to shut down Western's attack, while the Mustangs weren't as successful as they were in blocking throughout the first set.
 
The dominant performance at the net carried the Tigers all the way to the top, taking the set 25-20.
 
Set three saw a change in the purple and white lineup, with Veltman moving to the left side and Danielle Grasman coming on to play alongside Scott.
 
"If things aren't working we're going to change something, and [Veltman's] got a lot of experience out there and it gets some of our athletes on the floor," said Bartlett of the decision. "Bringing in Danielle, she's one of our most physical players and blockers. It gives our team a bit of a different look, and forces the other team to make some adjustments that they weren't planning for. It worked to a point, and it worked in the OUA final, but it didn't result in a win today."
 
The switch opened greater attacking opportunities for the three-time OUA West Player of the Year, and allowed her to team up with Scott and Grasman to form a threatening blocking unit.
 
Block coverage on the part of both teams was comprehensive, pushing rallies to some of their longest lengths of the year. A combined 7.5 blocks were recorded between the two teams, which was still only a fraction of the number of times an attack was rejected.
 
However, the skill that allowed the Tigers to top the Mustangs was arguably their serve. Dalhousie challenged the purple and white serve receive and prevented a solid first pass from reaching setter Kat Tsiofas, cutting down her choices of offensive plays.
 
"We got going with our serve, thought that really changed things," said Dalhousie head coach Rick Scott. We put them under pressure and put them out of system. […] The serve, and serve receive game was important and in the end I think that's why we won, because we were a little better down the stretch."
 
Western adjusted with substitutions, but were unable to bring down the reigning AUS Champions, losing the third and final set 24-26.
 
The loss brings an end to the purple and white season, which was noted by both Bartlett and Scott as one of the best this unit of athletes has had.
 
"There were so many firsts this year for our team," said Bartlett. "Making it to the OUA final, being ranked in the Top 10 and making it to – for this group – the first national championship. Some pretty big milestones were achieved."
 
"I think what we'll take from this tournament, is that as a team we see how hard we need to work if our goal is to be in the top four teams in the country. They now have kind of a benchmark, and we can say 'this is what we need to do, this is the quality we need to put out on the court, to be better than we were this year.' That's a very important thing we can take from this tournament."