TORONTO – The Mustangs faced the greatest challenge to OUA has to offer on Friday evening, falling to the nationally ranked and undefeated (9-0) Ryerson Rams in three sets (15-25, 13-25, 14-25).
 
Lauren Veltman was the highest scoring athlete of the game, with 17 points across the three sets. Fellow Ram Cailin Wark earned 13 points, while Kelsey Veltman led the Mustangs with 10.5.
 
With the loss Western holds a 5-3 record to remain in second place in the OUA West division. Ryerson's record moves to 9-0 and allows them to continue as the only team in the league with a perfect record.
 
The Rams got off to a quick start in the first set, immediately building up a solid point difference that kept the Mustangs at bay.
 
Ryerson's Veltman played the biggest role in helping the Rams establish their lead, taking over at the base line and forcing the Mustangs out of system. Western's athletes were able to get hands on the serve, but struggled to send a controlled pass to their setter. As a result, net calls plagued the Mustangs throughout the first half of the set.
 
Also troubling the purple and white defensive effort was Veron's influence at the net. The fourth-year middle had no problem utilizing the traditionally strong Mustang blockers to her advantage, chipping the ball off Western's block.
 
The Mustangs began to claw their way back into the game and stall the Ryerson victory as the end of the set inched closer as the Rams block began to falter. Carly Kimmet and Melissa Langegger were the primary targets of setter Kat Tsiofas, with both athletes being able to hit through or around the towering block.
 
Despite the late burst, the Rams would take the first set by a ten-point margin at 15-25.
 
Western continued to struggle against Ryerson in the second set, with serving errors and net violations taking a toll on the purple and white game.
 
Ryerson's attackers continued to send the ball deep into the six position, while their blockers effectively tripped up those of the Mustangs. Head coach Melissa Bartlett tried to add more height into Western's lineup by moving middle Kate Ferguson into the right side.
 
The second set saw the Rams take the lead on the very first serve and maintain a firm hold. Despite seeing substantial rallies that featured top talent from both teams, the lopsided score leaned heavily in favour of Ryerson as they took the second set 25-13.
 
An altered lineup took the floor for the third set, but the presence of Mustang mainstay Kelsey Veltman would have the greatest impact. The Brampton native had her best set of the game as she consistently earned a point off the attack while also cutting off some of Ryerson's top athletes with her block.
 
Her strong performance was matched by the Ryerson lineup, who recorded a team-wide .348 hitting percentage in the final set. Lauren Veltman in particular had a strong set and can be credited with earning the bulk of points that came off an attack.
 
Western struggled with communication issues unseen in the previous sets, forcing errors both defensively and offensively. When combined with their technical, and serving errors, the Mustangs handed Ryerson several points that could have changed the course of the game.

The Rams ended the match in three sets, taking a 25-14 victory to continue their undefeated streak.
 
Western will be back on the court tomorrow night, when they visit Brock's Bob Davis Gymnasium to take on the Badgers.