Toronto, ON - The Western Mustangs faced off against Ryerson in their first season game of 2020. 

Brady Fidler led the Mustangs in kills for the night with 9 while Josiah Esau led them in digs with 4. Xander Ketrzysnki led both teams in kills with 13.

The early part of the first set was close as the set stood tied at 3. The Rams began to gain a lead as they widened the score to 4-6, but a service error gave the Mustangs the serve. A dump from Josiah Esau shortened Ryerson's lead, but the Rams were quick to regain it. Ryerson led 11-16 heading into a technical timeout. Western struggled with their serving in this set with multiple service errors contributing towards a 13-19 deficit against the Rams. Amit Sayal and Jack Cochran were both subbed into the set, but the Rams went on to win the set 15-25. 

The Rams took the first two points of the second set, but a kill from Blake Fenwick gave Western the serve. The Mustangs struggled to gain any momentum when a kill from Brady Fidler gave Western the serve with a score of 5-8. Two big kills from the Mustangs followed by a service ace from Josiah Esau brought the set within two with a score of 8-10. After a long rally Western brought the score to 11-13. The Rams began to regain their previous momentum after the technical timeout as they charged ahead to a 14-19 lead. A massive block from Blake Fenwick gave Western the serve as they shortened Ryerson's lead to 17-19. Jack Cochran got subbed in to serve with the scoreboard showing 19-22. Western tied the score at 24 as their offense and serving began to overpower the Rams. The set was tied at 25 and again at 26. The Rams went on to win the set 26-28 taking a 0-2 lead in the match.

The third set was close as the score stood tied at 3. The Rams had two blocks in a long rally to gain a two point lead with a score of 4-6. Ryerson went on to widen their lead to 5-10 with powerful kills and big blocks. Western struggled to slow the Rams' momentum as they widened their lead to 5-13. A kill from Ryan Scott followed by a big double block from the Mustangs allowed them to shorten the Rams' lead to 7-13. Ryerson struggled to return Evan Cranshaw's serves allowing the Mustangs to bring the score to 10-14. A kill from Ryan Scott brought the score to within four points. The Rams widened their lead after the technical timeout, but the Mustangs were quick to bring the set back within three points with a score of 14-17. The Rams had back to back blocks to extend their lead to 17-22 heading into the late part of the set. Ryerson won the set 19-25 to take the match in 3 sets.

The men will return home to face Queen's on January 17th at 8:00pm. Be sure to wear your purple when you come out to cheer them on.