THUNDER BAY, ON – In a shorter-than-average match, the Western women ended their Saturday afternoon battle against Lakehead University with an intense 3-1 victory. 
 
The afternoon began on a bit of a sour note when Western immediately gave up possession of the ball after their set-starting serve didn't have quite enough power to make it over the net. The Mustangs didn't let their unfortunate start phase them; they matched the Thunderwolves point by point for the first half of the game. Both teams were working hard to get a rally going, sprinting for out-of-bounds balls. After an unavoidable slip by one of the Mustangs, Lakehead broke the tie for the first time all set with 13-16. It was following the Thunderwolves' sixteenth point that a timeout was called; Western's head coach Melissa Bartlett likely aimed to reel the women in after their topsy-turvy beginning. Whatever Coach Bartlett told the Mustangs seemed to do the trick as they came out of the time-out and quickly managed to match and surpass the Thunderwolves, switching up the scoreboard to 21-18. Another time-out was called just before the teams began their battle for the last few points of the first set. Lakehead snagged two more points before being forced to forfeit the ball due to a service error. After a brief 24-24 tie and a tricky rally, the Mustangs focused in on snagging the last point needed for their eventual 27-25 set victory. 
 
Western had clearly found their rhythm as they quickly scooped four uninterrupted points off the top of the second set. After a sneaky tip by Western's Kristina Curcin, the score sat at 7-3. As the Mustangs continued to distance themselves, a Lakehead player encouraged her teammates to "play everything," likely hinting that their heavy reliance on possible out-of-bounds calls wasn't doing them any favours. The Thunderwolves managed to pull their score up a bit, but the Mustangs were working off their momentum from the last set and continued to climb to 14-11. In the stands, Lakehead supporters seemed to be growing nervous, attempting to break Western's concentration every time they were up to serve by creating a noisy diversion. As the score rose to 20-15, the Mustangs proved that they were not concerned with anything going on in the gym except the game. The women returned to a 21-21 tie towards the end as the final score of the second set shaped up to be just as close as the first. Western's Coach Bartlett performed a quick player substitution after Lakehead was successful in landing three more points, but the attempt to change things up came a bit too late; the Thunderwolves accepted a second set victory with a final score of 22-25.
 
Once again, Western started off strong with four consecutive points. The score grew to 8-2 and then paused there as the first timeout of the third set was called by Lakehead's head coach Craig Barclay. Western's Curcinand Melissa Langegger were moving together flawlessly to defend their team from Lakehead's attempts and it was working; the Mustangs continued to lead with 18-11. When the Thunderwolves' blockers attempted to do the same, it backfired, bouncing off their fingertips and landing on their side of the court. Western increased their lead from seven to ten points as their opposition stole possession of the serve. Lakehead maintained their energy up until the last second, but the Mustangs weren't about to give this one up as they won the third set with 25-17.
 
The Mustangs refused to show Lakehead any mercy as they promptly began this set with an 8-3 lead. Western's Rachael Grove made an admirable dive in an attempt to redirect an out-of-control Lakehead ball, but couldn't quite get under it in time. The Western bench was getting rowdy as they looked forward to what they were hoping could be their most impressive win so far this season. Lakehead's reactions were slow and their organization lacking as the Mustangs plowed forward with 20-8. Western seemed to have their court movements down to a science, quickly snagging point after point with almost no objection from their opposition. After a colossal set win of 25-9, the Western women added a well-deserved 3-1 victory to their collection.
 
The women will remain in Thunder Bay for their second game against Lakehead on Sunday, November 10^th at 2:00. If you can't make the trip, but still want to support the Mustangs, the game will be streamed live here.