London, ON – The Mustangs took on TMU Friday night at Alumni Hall to officially start the regular season, sweeping the Bold in straight sets.
The Mustangs got off to a hot start, claiming the first two sets 25-21, and the third 25-19, to open their season on a winning note in front of a mirage of purple and white in the stands. Despite missing their captain to start the season due to injury, the 'Stangs rallied together to produce an inspiring first win of the season.
"Relieved," said head coach Jim Sage on how it feels to open their season with a win. "We had a key injury to our captain Amit. I wasn't sure what to expect. The guy who went in for him struggled a bit, so that was stressful. But the other guys picked up their game which was great. I was really pleased with those performances."
Blake Fenwick led the way with 10 kills and 11 digs, while Nicolas Folz and Jason Guy each had 8, with the latter also registering an ace. Josiah Esau registered 33 assists on the night.
"I think we all did a good job of bringing each other up and a couple guys had to step in as well during the game, and they did a good job of just keeping the flow of the game," said Guy. "It feels great [to get the win]. No better feeling."
Nicolas Folz started the season off for the Mustangs with a strong kill, with the teams proceeding to exchange points to start the opening set.
With the back-and-forth tying things up at 8, it was the Mustangs who would first get out to a multi-point lead at 11-8 led in part by Josh Thorson. Soon after, a long rally featuring a block by Folz was finished off with a Blake Fenwick kill, growing the purple and white's momentum at 12-9.
TMU would call a timeout at 16-11, as they looked to fight back in the set. It was the 'Stangs offense however that continued to roll, with TMU errors giving the purple and white a 6-point lead at 22-16.
The visitors in blue secured the next four points, cutting the deficit as they made Western work to close out the set.
A TMU error followed by a hard-fought point featuring a dig by Josiah Esau and a Fenwick kill gave set-point to the 'Stangs. Fenwick closed out the set for a 25-21 victory.
The second set proved to be a lot closer, despite the same score.
The start of the second mirrored the first with Folz starting things off followed by the exchanging of points.
Western would be the first to get out to a lead at 7-4, with a long rally featuring a Thorson save and Jonah Millard kill as a highlight eliciting cheers from the bench and home crowd.
"We were all super excited [to open the season at home in front of fans]," said Guy. "Playing here for the last four years, the older guys really like to defend our home and the first game of the season being a home opener meant we were really excited to get out there and do the best we can to defend our home court."
Tied at 14, a TMU error and Jason Guy ace put the 'Stangs back in front at 16-14, but the Bold continued to tie things up as the set progressed.
A Folz kill and Millard block put the Mustangs in control at 23-21, before Fenwick gave the purple and white set-point which was finished off by Millard.
Western got out to an early 6-4 lead in the third set as they looked to close this one out in three.
The Bold wouldn't let the 'Stangs have it easy however as they continued to battle and kept things close.
With the score reading 15-13, Guy electrified the team with a big kill. Guy followed it up with a big block, putting his team ahead by 4.
A TMU error followed, widening the gap at 18-13, which the Mustangs extended to 21-15 from a Conor Doran kill.
Fenwick gave the purple and white set-point at 24-18, which he then finished off for a final 25-19 victory.
"I thought for the first match where there is going to be some butterflies that we got the job done," said Sage. "[We need to] change the narrative of things that we learned from previous years, and we are trying some things differently. It seems to work, and the guys have bought in. It's their ideas that we manipulate and make work, which helps instead of me telling them everything."
And of course, it being only the first game of the regular season, many things can still be tweaked and improved upon as the season progresses.
"[We need to improve] first contact," said Guy. "Our serving and serve receive could have been a little bit better, but our out of system attacking and block defense really picked it up for us. Tomorrow we really want to bring up our serve game and pass better balls."
Despite the victory, the Mustangs are sure not to get too ahead of themselves as they face-off against the Bold tomorrow in a rematch.
"We approach [tomorrow] carefully," said Sage. "I'm concerned we are to think we got this tomorrow, and we have struggled with that in the past. So again, change the narrative and understand that they are not going to put up with that again. They are going to be better. I think we can be better so that's important too."
"Nothing changes," concluded Guy on the quick turnaround. "Even though we got a nice 3-0 win, we still have to respect them. We know they're a good team and it can go either way. We have to go with the same intensity and just keep on playing."
The Mustangs are back in action against TMU tomorrow night at 8pm at Alumni Hall. Tickets can be purchased at westernmustangs.ca
