LONDON, Ont. - Fourth-year middle Kelsey Veltman tallied a team-high 14 points to help lead the Western women's volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over the Queen's Gaels on Saturday afternoon in Alumni Hall.

Kate Ferguson also added 10 points in the game while Melissa Langegger contributed 9.5 to the cause. But perhaps most impressive was the performance of Carly Kimmett, who played out of position all game and ultimately swung the final set, totalling eight digs on the afternoon.

"It's surreal to be able to advance in the playoffs against such a competitive team," said Kimmett. "The energy surrounding the playoffs is so much fun to be around, so I'm glad we got the win tonight and we get to keep going. I played on the left side which isn't my normal position, but I was happy to do whatever I could to help the team win."

"We're really proud to be going back to the final four for the fifth year in a row," said Mustangs head coach Melissa Bartlett. "Queen's played very well today, so we really had to be nearly perfect after dropping that first set. I think today showed our perseverance, we battled back and earned the win."

Queen's was led by Julia Wiercigroch, who led the day with a game-high 17 points and 16 digs in the loss.

Queen's came out of the gate on fire to begin the first set, as they built up an early lead while Western behind a relentless will to keep each point alive. The Mustangs eventually rallied back late in the set and closed the gap with Gaels, but the run proved to arrive just too late as Queen's took the first 25-19 heading into the second.

Queen's carried their early momentum into the second set and built up an early lead behind their play at the net. However, after a number of blown serves from the Gaels, the Mustangs quickly found themselves back in the set. Ferguson finally earned the purple and white their first lead of the afternoon behind an incredible spike, but the set remained tightly contested for the entire set. Western's momentum surged down the final stretch behind the play of Veltman, as she put away the set at 25-20 to tie the game at one apiece.

The third set remained a back and forth affair, as Langegger continued to be the catalyst behind the Mustangs' point production for much of the frame. Neither team managed to pull together a sustained run until the end of the set, where Veltman would put away the set 25-22 and push the purple and white to the 2-1 lead.

However, it was the Gaels who once again controlled the start of the following set, as they jumped out to a quick 9-4 point differential. But the perseverance of the purple and white once again rewarded them midway through the frame, as they retook the lead behind the unmatched hustle of Kimmett. The Gaels regained the lead late in the set behind their net play, but an incredible effort down the stretch helped push the Mustangs to the eventual 3-1 victory.

"A key focus in practice was our mindset because the playoffs take a completely different toll mentally, but I think we handled our adversity well today," said Kimmett. "Obviously dropping that first set can rattle a team, but we're a team that supports one another no matter what, so I think that's going to help us out in future games when the pressure's higher."

"It was absolutely huge having that home crowd behind us today, especially when you're down early," said Barlett. "Volleyball is such a momentum game, so we're glad to we had the positivity on our bench and in the stands to rally back and regain that momentum. The fans were a big reason behind this win today."

With the win, the Mustangs will now move on to compete in the OUA semi-final round against either the Ryerson Rams on the road or the Waterloo Warriors at home. Fans can catch all the action live on OUA.tv.