London, ON - The Western Mustangs faced off against the Windsor Lancers at home on Friday night. The Mustangs went on to win a hard fought five-set battle against the Lancers.

Gianfranco Sartor led both team in kills with with 21 for the night. Jackson Bere led both teams in blocks with 9 while Josiah Esau led both teams in digs with 14.

The Mustangs started the night with a massive kill from Evan Cranshaw to earn the first point of the match. The Lancers tied the set at 1 before taking a 2-1 lead in the set. The Lancers began to extend their lead to 4-2, but a kill from Jackson Bere regained the serve for the Mustangs. A smart play from Brady Fidler tied the set at 4. The Lancers retook the lead, but a kill from Gianfranco Sartor tied the set at 5. The set was a battle as a smart dump from Josiah Esau tied the set at 7. A kill from Brady Fidler earned the Mustangs a 9-8 lead before the Lancers once again tied the set. A big double block from the Mustangs helped contribute to a 11-9 lead for Western. The Lancers answered back and tied the set at 13. The Mustangs regained their momentum and led the set 16-14 heading into the technical timeout. Western continued to grow their lead to 18-14 after the timeout through a strong defence and a powerful offence. The Lancers began to shorten the Mustangs' lead, but it wasn't enough as Western continued to lead 20-17. Back to back service aces from Josiah Esau brought the score to 22-17. A double block from Ryan Scott and Gianfranco Sartor extended Western's lead to 23-17. The Lancers regained their momentum as they shortened the Mustangs lead to 23-21 before the Mustangs regained the serve. The set became tied at 24 and again at 25. The Lancers went on to win the first set 27-25 and took a 1-0 lead in the match. 

The Lancers took an early 3-1 lead in the second set, but a kill from Gianfranco Sartor regained the serve for the Mustangs. A kill from Jackson Bere followed by a triple block from Jackson Bere, Brady Fidler and Josiah Esau allowed the Mustangs to tie the set at 4. The Lancers retook their lead with a score of 9-7 as they continued to grow their lead over the Mustangs to 11-7 before the Mustangs regained the serve. A kill from Ryan Scott shortened the Lancer lead to  12-9. Another triple block from Brady Fidler, Jackson Bere, and Josiah Esau brought the set back within two points with a score of 13-11. A big kill from Evan Cranshaw gave Jackson Bere the serve who went on to earn a service ace bringing the score to 15-14. Another kill from Evan Cranshaw tied the set at 15 and the Mustangs went on to lead 16-15 heading into the technical timeout. The set was tied at 17 and again at 18 after both teams had serving errors. A kill from Jackson Bere tied the set at 20 before the Mustangs retook the lead 22-20. A massive block from Josiah Esau extended the Mustangs lead to 22-20. A service ace from Brady Fidler grew the Mustangs' lead to 24-21 before a block from Jackson Bere, Evan Cranshaw, and Josiah Esau earned the win for the Mustangs with a score of 25-21. The match became tied at 1.

Evan Cranshaw earned the first point of the third set with a big kill. The Mustangs went on to extend their early lead to 4-1. Back to back kills from Gianfranco Sartor brought the score to 6-2 before a kill from Jackson Bere grew the lead to 7-2. A big double block from Jackson Bere and Evan Cranshaw and a big dig from Nathan Phelps contributed to the Mustangs extending their lead to 10-3. Gianfranco Sartor earned another kill as he brought the score to 12-6. A massive kill from Ryan Scott allowed the Mustangs to maintain their six point lead with a score of 13-7. The Lancers began to shorten the Mustangs' lead, but a big solo block from Jackson Bere regained the serve for the Mustangs with a score of 16-10. A smart tip from Brady Fidler brought the score to 17-11 before another kill from Gianfranco Sartor extend Western's lead further to 19-12. The Lancers answered back as they shortened the Mustangs' lead to 20-18 before a kill from Ryan Scott regained the serve for the Mustangs. A kill from Brady Fidler gave the Mustangs the serve with a score of 22-20 and a kill from Jackson Bere brought the score to 23-21. The Mustangs went on to win the third set 25-21 taking a 2-1 lead in the match.

The Mustangs and the Lancers split the first two points of the fourth set. A big double block from Evan Cranshaw and Ryan Scott earned the Mustangs a 2-1 lead. The Lancers quickly earned a 4-2 lead over the Mustangs before a massive kill from Gianfranco Sartor regained the serve for the Mustangs. The Mustangs retook a 6-5 lead with an another kill from Gianfranco Sartor. The Lancers answered back and took an 8-6 lead over the Mustangs. The Mustangs tied the set at 10 before a double block from Gianfranco Sartor and Ryan Scott gave Western a 11-10 lead. The set was tied at 13 before the Mustangs gained a 14-13 lead. A smart play from Brady Fidler allowed the Mustangs to lead 16-15 heading into the technical timeout. The Mustangs were leading the set 17-16 when Rhys Matheson was substituted in to serve. Back to back kills from Evan Cranshaw and Gianfranco Sartor grew Western's lead to 19-16. The set was tied at 21 before the Mustangs retook a 22-21 lead. The set was tied again at 22 and the Lancers went on to take a 23-22 lead. The Lancers went on to win the set 25-22 and tied the match at 2.

The Mustangs took the first point of the fifth set with a kill from Gianfranco Sartor. A kill from Brady Fidler and a service ace from Ryan Scott extended the Mustangs lead to 4-1. The Lancers tied the set at 5 before a double block from Jackson Bere and Brady Fidler regained the serve for the Mustangs. Rhys Matheson was substituted in to serve as the Mustangs continued to grow their lead to 8-5 with back to back kills from Gianfranco Sartor. A massive double block from Jackson Bere and Josiah Esau brought the score to 9-6. The Lancers answered back and tied the set at 9. The Lancers took at 10-9 lead with a service ace, but Evan Cranshaw was quick to tie it up with a big kill. The set was tied again at 11 before a smart tip from Brady Fidler regained a 12-11 lead for the Mustangs. A massive triple block from Brady Fidler, Ryan Scott, and Gianfranco Sartor extended the Mustangs lead to 13-11. The set was tied at 13, but a kill from Brady Fidler regained a 14-13 lead for the Mustangs. The Mustangs went on to win the fifth set 15-13 and won the match 3-2.

The Men play at home on February 21st against McMaster at 8:00pm. Come out to support the Mustangs as they seek to build on this big win.