Toronto, ON - The Mustangs travelled to Toronto on Saturday afternoon to face the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. The Mustangs came back from a two set deficit to force a fifth set, but it wasn't enough as they fell in the final set to lose the match 3-2.

Evan Cranshaw led the Mustangs for the afternoon with 11 kills. Gianfranco Sartor led the Mustangs in service aces with 3 while Brady Fidler led the Mustangs in digs with 10. Jackson Bere led both teams in blocks with 7 solo blocks.

The Mustangs and the Varsity Blues tied the set 1-1, but the Varsity Blues took an early 4-2 lead. A block from Brady Fidler allowed the Mustangs to tie the set at 4. The University of Toronto was quick to tie the set at 5, but a kill from Gianfranco Sartor regained the lead for the Mustangs. Once again the Varsity Blues tied the set at 8 before taking a 9-8 lead. The University of Toronto began to gain momentum as they extended their lead to 13-9 heading into a time out. Another kill from Gianfranco Sartor helped the Mustangs shorten the Varsity Blues' lead to 14-11. After returning from the technical timeout, a kill from Jackson Bere brought the score to 12-16. A serving error gave Western the serve and a kill from Evan Cranshaw brought the score to 20-15. The Mustangs began to chip away at the Varsity Blues' lead with a score of 18-22, but it wasn't enough as the University of Toronto took the first set 25-18.

The University of Toronto took the first point of the second set, but the Mustangs were quick to tie the set at 1. The Varsity Blues gained a 3-1 lead, but a kill from Brady Fidler followed by a big double block from Brady Fidler and Jackson Bere tied the set at 3. A service ace from Ryan Scott gave Western their first lead of the set 4-3. After the Varsity Blues tied the set at 4, a kill from Jackson Bere regained a 5-4 lead followed by a block from Jackson Bere which extended the Mustangs' lead further. The Varsity Blues answered back and tied the set at 9. It wasn't enough to slow down the Mustangs as they were quick to regain a 11-9 lead. The Varsity Blues answered back once again as they tied the set at 14, but a kill from Brady Fidler regained control of the set for the Mustangs with a score of 15-14. Another block from Jackson Bere brought the score to 16-15 for the Mustangs heading into the technical timeout. A massive kill from Evan Cranshaw extended the Mustangs lead to 18-16. The Varsity Blues answered back as they tied the set at 19 before taking a 20-19 lead over the Mustangs. Ryan Scott earned a kill as the teams returned from the timeout bringing the score to 21-20 as Jack Cochran was substituted in to serve. A massive double block from Jackson Bere and Gianfranco Sartor tied the set at 21 before another block from Brady Fidler gave the Mustangs the lead 22-21. The set remained a battle as the Varsity Blues tied the set at 23 before they took a 24-23 lead over the Mustangs. The Varsity Blues went on to win the set 25-23 and extended their lead to 2-0 for the match.

The Mustangs took the first point of the third set before a service ace from Evan Cranshaw allowed them to take an early 2-0 lead. Another service ace from Ryan Scott grew the Mustangs' lead to 5-1. A service ace from Gianfranco Sartor brought the Mustangs' lead to 7-2. Brady Fidler earned the Mustangs' fourth service ace of the set which gave the Mustangs a 6 point lead with a score of 9-3. The Varsity Blues came out hot from a time out as they shortened the Mustangs' lead to 9-5 before a kill from Jackson Bere regained the serve for Western. The Varsity Blues began to gain momentum as they brought the set within 4 points, but a kill from Gianfranco Sartor allowed the Mustangs to regain a 5 point lead with a 13-8 score. Western maintained control of the set as they led 16-12 heading into the technical timeout. The set became close as the Varsity Blues shortened the Mustangs' lead to 17-15 before a big triple block from Jack Cochran, Jackson Bere, and Evan Cranshaw brought the score to 18-15. The Varsity Blues managed to tie the set at 19, but a kill from Gianfranco Sartor regained a 20-19 lead for the Mustangs heading into the late part of the set. A block from Ryan Scott brought the score to 21-19 heading into a University of Toronto timeout. The set became a battle as Western lead 23-22 in the final points of the set as a kill from Brady Fidler brought the Mustangs to set point. The Mustangs went on to win the set 25-22 forcing the match into a fourth set.

Strong serving from Jack Cochran along with big plays from the Mustangs led to an early 3-0 lead for Western in the fourth set. A kill from Brady Fidler gave the Mustangs a 5-1 lead, but the Varsity Blues were quick to shorten Western's lead to 6-4. A kill from Jackson Bere allowed the Mustangs to regain a 4 point lead before they went on to extend their lead to 12-6. Back to back kills from Gianfranco Sartor and Ryan Scott grew Western's lead to 14-7 heading into a Varsity Blues timeout. The Mustangs continued to dominate the set as they headed into the technical timeout leading the set 16-8. The Varsity Blues tried to shorten the Mustangs' lead but a smart tip from Brady Fidler extended Western's lead to 19-13. Another kill from Brady Fidler brought the score to 20-13 heading into the late part of the set. The Varsity Blues refused to give up as they began to chip away at the Mustangs' lead, but a kill from Evan Cranshaw brought the score to 22-16. The Varsity Blues brought the set back within 3 points with a score of 24-21. It wasn't enough to stop the Mustangs as they went on to win the set 25-22 and tied the match at 2.

The Varsity Blues had the first serve of the set, but a big kill from Jackson Bere was quick to put the ball in the Mustangs hands. A double block from Jackson Bere and and Brady Fidler allowed Western to take a 2-0 lead in the set. The set quickly became a battle with a 3-2 score for the Mustangs before a kill from Evan Cranshaw regained a 2 point lead for the Mustangs. The Varsity Blues answered back and tied the set at 4 before taking a 5-4 lead. The Varsity Blues took a 6-4 lead, but two big plays from Evan Hochman allowed the Mustangs to tie the set at 6. The Varsity Blues led 8-7 as the two teams changed sides. The set became tied at 8, but the Varsity Blues were quick to take a 10-8 lead heading into the late part of the final set of the night. A huge kill from Brady Fidler gave Gianfranco Sartor the serve with the scoreboard showing an 11-9 lead for the Varsity Blues. The University of Toronto went on to win the fifth set 15-9 and took the match 3 sets to 2.

The Mustangs return to the road on February 8th as they travel to the University of Windsor for a 2:00pm game. You can watch the men's final road game of the regular season at oua.yaretv.com.