Box Score London, ON - As the regular season draws to a close, the Mustangs were looking for a strong finish on the final weekend as they hosted Waterloo & Guelph.
The Warriors have had a tough season but came out strong in the first set as they battled with the Mustangs evenly through the first 10 points to even at 5-5. Mid set Waterloo was able to take the edge with 4 straight points from Colm Guyn to extend their lead to 15-9. Western tried to regain the lead but could only muster one and two point streches and would eventually drop the first set 25-19.
Both teams would continue back and forth action in the second set with neither team catching on with consistency and trade points fairly evenly but Western would end up getting the better of Waterloo to pick up a 25-21 win and even the game at 1-1.
In the third set the Warriors would gain some momentum. After drawing even at 13-13, Waterloo would go on a 7 point run which would eventually lead to them taking the third set 24-17 and a 2-1 lead.
With Western potentially looking at defeat in the fourth set, it was obvious that coach Jim Sage wanted to see a better performance from his squad. The Mustangs would get the first 3 points of the set but Waterloo just wasn't going away as they would battle to lead mid-way through the set 12-10. Western would then go on a pair of point runs that would lead to them leading 17-13 and they wouldn't look back, eventually picking up a 25-20 set win and forcing a fifth and deciding set.
In the fifth both teams continued a neck and neck match with neither team getting more than a three point lead. The crowd at Alumni Hall was on the edge of their seats the entire time waiting to see who would take this match. With the score tied at 18-18 the Mustangs would get the pair of crucial points they needed and take the set 20-18 and the match 3-2 over Waterloo in one of the most intense nights of the year for both teams.
Gianfranco Sartor led the Mustangs offence with 19.5 points, 17 kills and 8 digs. Kevin LeBreux led the way for Waterloo.
On Saturday night the Mustangs welcomed Guelph to Alumni Hall for their final regular season action.
Before the game the Mustangs recognized three of their graduation seniors from the team, Matt Hooker, Evan Hammond and Evan Cranshaw. Each received their jersey and a photo from head coach Jim Sage and were joined by their families for the occasion.
Once the recognitions were over with the Mustangs looked to finish the season strong and make a statement heading into playoffs.
The first set saw Western jump out to an early lead of 3-0, 6-1 & 10-3. The Gryphons had a hard time handling the intense attack that the Mustangs were sending their way. Guelph would find a way to get close though as a pair of three point runs would lead to a 15-13 Western lead. The Mustangs would prove to be too much though as they went on a four point run that extended the score to 21-15 and eventually take the first set 25-20.
The second set saw the Gryphons return the favour and jump out to an early 7-2 lead of their own and they would continue to hold that lead until the mid way point of the set. Gianfranco Sartor would have a three point run that would see the Mustangs take their first lead of the second set at 15-13 and although the Gryphons would grind their way back to a 19-19 score the Mustangs would keep their foot on the pedal and finish the second set with a 25-22 win.
In the third set it was all Mustangs late. The two teams kept thing close through the early stages of the set and even tied 9-9 at one point but the Gryphons made three attack errors in the middle stages which saw Western take a 13-9 lead and they would surrender it from there as they would continue to pour on the offence and eventually pick up a 25-18 win and take the match 3-0.
Western now looks to the playoffs and finish second in the West conference with a 13-4 record. The Mustangs will take on the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday night at 5:00pm at Alumni Hall.
