Guelph,ON - The women's volleyball team faced off against the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday afternoon. The Mustangs won the match 3-1 extending their win streak to 3 games.
Kristina Curcin led both the Mustangs and the Gryphons with 13 kills for the day. Carly Kimmett had 4 service aces leading the Mustangs for the match while Brittney Sestric led both teams in digs.
The women split the first two points of the first set leading to an early battle with neither team able to gain a substantial lead early on. However, Guelph was quick to gain speed with a score of 4-10. A kill from Rachael Grove gave Western the serve but they struggled to gain any ground against the Gryphons. With the score showing 8-14 an important kill from Carly Kimmett allowed the Mustangs to bring the set back within 5 points. Guelph began to widen their lead again, but a big block from Kristina Curcin gave the Mustangs the serve. Guelph answered back and lead the Mustangs 11-20 heading into the late part of the set. Brooklyn Bere was substituted in to serve for the Mustangs and the Gryphons struggled to defend against her allowing the Mustangs to close the gap to 17-20. The Gryphons went on to win the first set 18-25 leading the match 1-0.
The Mustangs came out hot in the second set taking an early 4-1 lead. Guelph gained momentum against Western tying the set at 5, but back to back kills from Kate Van Camp and Kate Ferguson allowed Western to regain a 7-5 lead in the set. The Mustangs offence became hard to defend against as they intermixed powerful attacks with smart, well placed tips allowing them to gain a larger lead in the set 12-7. While the Gryphons had some powerful attacks, the Mustangs were quick to regain control of the set and maintain a 5 point lead with a score of 16-11. Two kills in a row from Kate Van Camp and a block from Kate Ferguson allowed Western to widen their lead to 19-13. With some strong attacks from both Western and Guelph, the Mustangs led 23-18 heading into the last few points of the set. A kill from Carly Kimmett brought Western to set point and a tip from Kristina Curcin allowed them to win the second set 25-20. The match stood tied at 1.
Like the first set, the third started with an early 3-3 tie. A block from Kristina Curcin followed by a service ace from Melissa Langegger allowed the Mustangs to gain a 5-3 lead. Guelph was quick to tie the set at 5, but a kill from Kristina Curcin regained the lead for Western. The set became a battle for the next several points as neither team was able to gain more than a 1 point lead. A kill from Kristina Curcin brought the score to 12-10 for the Mustangs. After another service ace from Melissa Langegger the score stood at 14-11 for Western. However, Guelph answered back and tied the set at 14. The Mustangs began to surge ahead to a 4 point lead with a score of 18-14. A block from Kate Ferguson brought the score to 20-15 for the Mustangs. Back to back service aces from Carly Kimmett brought Western within two points of the win. After a kill from Kate Van Camp the score stood at 24-15. A block from Kate Ferguson led to the Mustangs winning the third set 25-15 and gaining a 2-1 lead in the match.
Like the majority of the sets in the match, the fourth began with an early tie between the teams followed by a battle to gain a lead. Guelph led 3-5, but Western was quick to answer leading to a 7-5 lead for the Mustangs. The set stood tied at 11 when a kill from Kristina Curcin gave Western a 12-11 lead. A big double block from Kate Van Camp and Kate Ferguson led to a 14-12 score for the Mustangs. After a kill and a service ace from Carly Kimmett the Mustangs began to charge ahead to a 17-14 lead heading into the late part of the set. After back to back kills from Kate Ferguson and Kate Van Camp the Mustangs continued to gain momentum. A big kill from Melissa Langegger allowed Western an 8 point lead late in the set with a score of 22-14. The Mustangs went on to win the set 25-16 allowing them to win the match 3-1.
The Mustangs will face the Waterloo Warriors on the road tomorrow afternoon at noon where they hope to build on their current 3 game win streak.
