LONDON, Ont –  The Mustangs extend their winning streak to six straight after winning in three sets against the Nipissing Lakers Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall (25-18, 25-17, 25-20).
 
The win moves the Mustangs record to 8-2 on the season, good for second in OUA West, while the loss puts Nipissing at 6-6, sitting in fourth place in OUA East.
 
According to Matt Hooker, the resent success is a result of  "just playing well as a group. Guys are stepping up when we need them to step up and it helps that we have a pretty tight knit group, we're on a high right now so we'd like to keep that going."
 
Bryn Ramsay topped the scoresheet for the Mustangs, tallying 16.5 points, off 14 kills, one service ace, one block, and one assisted block. Chris Newcombe followed with 12.5 points from nine kills, one service ace, one block and three assisted blocks.
 
"We're really happy with the consistency of that match, we took care of it and we have to regroup for a tough York team tomorrow," said Head Coach Jim Sage after the match.
 
On the Lakers side, Cameron Branch led the way recording 14 points throughout the match, from 14 kills while Warren Taylor added eight of his own points from six kills, one block and two assisted blocks.
 
Western dominated the first set, as Evan Cranshaw would lead the Mustangs earning five kills and dominating the net. Western would finish the first with a team total of .306 hitting percentage, with the Lakers behind them at .200.
 
The second set was going both ways, as the Lakers had a couple of strong chances and blocks with Branch seeming to dominate the play.
 
"We made a couple of mistakes there, that were digs we should've gotten, and I think we have to communicate a little bit better on defense and we'll be good for tomorrow," said Newcombe on the second set.
 
"Sometimes you can let loose a little bit and they can squeak back in with uncharacteristic points that we normally wouldn't let up in a tight game. But we felt in control the whole game," added Hooker.
 
Fortunately, Western cleaned up their game defensively, getting their stride back with Zeid Hamadeh all over the court, keeping the ball in play.
 
At the net, Newcombe stole the spotlight through strong blocking and phenomenal offensive play. Assisted blocks and his high flying attack rounded out the final few points for the Mustangs for a 25-17 victory.
 
Heading into the third up by two sets, the Mustangs were looking to end things on a high note. Although it would be the tightest score in the match, the Mustangs dominated the play. Thanks in part to Newcombe and a few big points, it gave Western the 16-14 lead heading into the technical timeout.
 
Following the timeout, the Mustangs were able to increase their lead with some big back to back assisted blocks from Ramsay and Hammond followed by Hamadeh's strong serving.
 
Despite a serving error from the Mustangs, they maintained their lead and clinched the final set 25-20 to win the match.
 
"[York] has a really balanced attack, they've got a really good setter and a lot of different guys can score on that team, so we're going to have to play a full team game to be successful," noted Hooker.
 
Western returns to the court tomorrow afternoon to take on the York Lions in London. Game time is set for 3:00pm at Alumni Hall.