LONDON, ON -- The rivalry between Western and McMaster was in full force on Friday night at Alumni Hall as yellow cards were tossed around and an audience of hecklers made themselves known.
 
Despite the drama, Western was able to focus in on a victory as they topped the Marauders in a 3-2 victory.
 
"It's always a hard-fought battle with those guys," assistant coach Mike Choja noted after the game. "Sometimes your emotions get the better of you, but I think the guys did a good job of keeping stuff in control as best as they could."
 
This game started out explosively as both teams made it known that they would not be holding back tonight. From the very first serve, Western and McMaster remained neck-and-neck. The first time-out was taken with the score sitting at 16-14 in favour of the Marauders. Off a serve by Gianfranco Sartor, the Mustangs managed to take the upper hand and pulled ahead with 18-16. Before Western's lead could grow any further, McMaster coach Dave Preston called his last timeout for this set. Whatever he said to his players was effective enough to allow them a couple points, but their rejuvenation did not last. After inadvertent contact with Marauder Connor Santoni's shoulder, the Mustangs gained their final point and bagged this set with 25-21.
 
The second set started out much like the first; neither team could get a grip on a strong lead. Western worked coherently as a team to keep up with their rivals as the score sat tied 17-17. The Mustangs finally won the ongoing tug-of-war and pulled ahead by two. With his fast feet and even faster reflexes, Western's Brady Fidler proved to be quite an asset this set, locking McMaster out of a number of advancement opportunities. With the score resting at 22-22, McMaster regained possession of the ball, but not for long. The teams battled for the final points for what felt like hours to eager onlookers. Finally, McMaster put a stop to Western with a score of 30-28.
 
At the beginning of the third set, Western was ready to make a comeback, keeping a comfortable distance from the opposition. Western's Jackson Bere took one for the team and took one to the face as the score sat at 4-1; he shook it off without a thought. After a period of give-and-take, Western took the advantage with 15-13. Evan Hammond increased the Mustang lead even further with a powerful hit that literally knocked his opponent over. The gap was closed soon as McMaster trailed with 22-21. The Marauders remained positive and consistent as their head coach looked on, taking the strong yet silent approach. Later on, the McMaster coach decided to take a different route and soon became the reason for a yellow card given to Hammond after a less than desirable verbal exchange took place between the two. Shortly after, McMaster ended this round with 25-23.
 
 
Perhaps McMaster was feeling a little left out; Connor Santoni received a yellow card almost immediately after the fourth set began. From those in the stands to those on the benches, onlookers were feeding off of the energy in the room as Mustangs picked up the pace with 11-5. As the score grew, the tempers did as well and McMaster quickly caught up with 16-19. Allowing the tension to motivate instead of distract them, Western managed to keep their cool and snag another set win with 25-20.
 
As expected, the fifth and final set proved to be a nail-biter. McMaster's communication seemed to deteriorate as the Mustangs' score rose. With the score at 10-8, the Marauders let through a number of easy points. The crowd's volume had only increased by the time the score reached 14-9 for Western. Growing desperate, Marauder fans began to try their hands at psyching out the competition, but Western's concentration remained as solid as ever. As the score sat at 14-11, a McMaster timeout was called. Whatever coach Preston said to his team motivated them to snap up one last point, but didn't motivate them enough and Western was happy to lock the final set down with 15-12.
 
"It's really great going into the break with a win, especially against McMaster. It kind of evens out the standings and gives us a chance to move forward in the second half and finish where we want to." said Western's Nathan Phelps after the game.

Western won't play again until January 12 when they travel to St. Catherine's to face Brock University.
 
Catch the action live at 8:00PM or follow the Mustangs online at oua.tv.