LONDON. Ont. – The Western Mustangs extended their winning streak to a season-high four games after shutting down the Nipissing Lakers in only three sets (25-22, 25-10, 25-19) on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall.
 
"We're really starting to get into our groove and figure things out. We know what we need to do on our side to win games now. That's great to see towards the end of the season," said starting setter Kat Tsiofas.
 
The win brings Western's record to 10-3, maintaining their spot in second in the OUA West behind McMaster. Nipissing sits at an even 6-6 for the season, and now sit fifth in the OUA East.
 
Kelsey Veltman led the team in points, registering 15 over three sets. Second year Carly Kimmett was only half a point back, and was the offensive leader with 13 kills.
 
What began as a back and forth battle in the early going would soon turn into a set dominated by Veltman. The middle took control of the first set after the two teams were locked in at 9-9 and anchored an offensive effort that saw the Mustangs go on a 7-2 run to head into the technical up 16-11.
 
Aja Gyimah served through the point streak, recording an ace in addition to forcing the Lakers to send over free balls.
 
Nipissing clawed their way back from the deep deficit through a combined effort that showcased the versatility of Cassandra Dobson in addition to the strength of the entire lineup at the baseline.
 
Kylie Fast, Annabelle Harvey, Madison Murphy, and Dobson all bested the Mustangs from the line, while Dobson was also identifiable as one of the mots well-rounded athletes on the floor, contributing in all facets of the game.
 
The left side is also listed on the Nipissing roster as a libero, and more than proved her ability to shine in either position as the most effective attacker and defender on the Lakers' side of the court. However, her performance wasn't enough to stall the Mustangs en route to the win, as they would take the first set 25-22.
 
Western rushed through the second set and allowed no time for the Lakers to attempt any semblance of a comeback, closing out the frame with a score of 25-10.
 
"We realized that eve though we won that first set, we still made a lot of errors on our side and there are things we could be doing better. We really focused on our side and cleaning up our plays, and it really worked in that set."
 
The purple and white defensive game shone throughout the set, allowing only four kills from the entirety of the Nipissing roster.
 
Four more points came off serving errors from Western, while the remaining two were attack errors.
 
The Lakers that rejoined the court for the third set played like a completely different team, and began to really challenge the Mustangs for the first time all match.
 
Harvey's performance at the net proved to be a game changer, as she managed to beat several Mustangs with her block. Her efforts were matched by Veltman and Danielle Grasman, who earned five blocks between the two of them.
 
Despite strong blocking being a theme that ran through all three sets, it wasn't until the final game that either team was able to directly generate points thanks to tight defensive coverage.
 
Blocking and comprehensive defensive coverage would become the bread of butter of the purple and white game for the majority of the final frame, leading the team to a 25-19 victory.
 
"We've been working hard on our defence, and we've been practicing blocking a lot – footwork and handwork with out coaches and we really improved that during today's game," noted Kelsey Veltman about the match.
 
Western will be back on the court tomorrow afternoon, when they welcome the York Lions to Alumni Hall at 1 p.m.
 
"They're a good team, top three or four in the East," noted head coach Melissa Bartlett about tomorrow's matchup. "They have some good weapons in the middle  - which a lot of teams don't and are mostly outside driven. We'll have to switch our defense a bit for that."