ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – After starting off 2018 with a loss to the Ryerson Rams on Friday night, the Mustangs bounced back on Saturday, topping the Brock Badgers in four sets (22-25, 25-18, 30-28, 25-19) at the Bob Davis Gymnasium.
 
The last meeting of the two teams saw a five-set Badger victory, resulting in the first loss of 2017.
 
With the win, the Mustangs avenge a first half loss to Brock and improves Western's record to 6-3, keeping them in second place in the OUA standings behind the first place McMaster Marauders. The Badgers' 2-6 record puts them in a tie for sixth place in the same division.
 
Just as she has all season long, Kelsey Veltman led the purple and white offence with 13 kills. She added another several points to the board for Western with an ace, a pair of solo blocks, and a pair of assisted blocks to total 17 points on the night. Aja Gyimah followed as the second highest scoring athlete, tallying 15 points on 11 kills, one ace, one solo block, and four assisted blocks.
 
Renee Helmer anchored the offence for the Badgers, racking up 15.5 points. Darby Taylor added 10.5 to the total, while Lauren Condotta rounded out the top three with an additional ten points.
 
The Badgers opened up the first set with a showing of strength and making the Mustangs scramble. Helmer and Taylor proved themselves to be among the most lethal servers on the court as Western struggled to handle the balls being sent over the net. As a result the Mustangs were forced to send free balls over the net in order to continue the rally and allowed Brock to send up near-perfect passes.
 
Danielle Grasman and Melissa Langegger almost led the Mustangs to a stunning comeback victory, erasing an eight point deficit to bring the game to within two points before the Badgers were able to push through and take the first set 25-22.
 
Western's strong play in the latter portions of the first set flawlessly carried the momentum into the following frame, easily taking the first five points.
 
Four of those points can be credited to Grasman's performance from the service line as the Badgers were unable to handle her serve. Only one ball made it back over the net as an overpass, but was promptly slammed back into the Badger half of the floor by Veltman.
 
The 6-6 middle would repeat the play several more times throughout the set, adding a point to the scoreboard every time.
 
Brock struggled to adjust to the increased competition coming from the Mustangs lineup, with the team being buried under a 10-point deficit just one set after they had established an identical lead over Western.
 
However, unlike the previous set there would be no substantial comeback threat as the Mustangs took the second frame by a score of 25-18.
 
Set three saw a more even effort between the two teams as neither team was able dominate as they had in either of the previous sets.
 
Both sides traded points for the majority of the game, with the Badgers relying on their strong serving just as they had done in the first set. The Mustangs countered by continuing their strong blocking effort, complimented by a diversified offence.
 
Then, as the end of the set loomed, a series of unforced errors began to plague both teams, with a pair of purple and white net violations and a missed Badger serve bringing the score to 24-22 in favour of the Mustangs.
 
Returning to the floor both teams battled for every point, with the Mustangs taking a narrow 30-28 victory.
 
The small point differential carried over into the fourth set of the match, as the two teams traded points fairly consistently in the early going
 
Taylor took control of the Badgers offensive game, and established herself as the clear favourite of setter Emily Armstrong. Condotta followed in terms of attack attempts, but the limited variety gave Western's blockers they could capitalize on.
 
Mustang blocks had been a consistent threat since the second set, but the fourth set saw them play a bigger role in keeping down the Badgers. Brock wasn't as successful in tracking the Mustang attackers however, as Tsiofas continued to run the diverse offence that led them to success earlier in the match.
 
Western would eventually take the fourth set 25-19, claiming the match and avenging their earlier loss to the Badgers.
 
The Mustangs are back on the court next weekend for a doubleheader in Thunder Bay. Western will take on the Thunderwolves on Saturday, January 20, and Sunday, January 21 – with both games scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.