London, ON – The Mustangs hosted TMU for the second night in a row Saturday night, this time taking a 3-0 win. 
 
Western took home a 3-1 win Friday night, before closing out their opening weekend series with an efficient straight sets win.
 
The Mustangs came out firing for their second game in as many days, taking the first set 25-20, the second 25-17, and final one 25-12. Janelle Albert led with 11 kills and 1 ace, while Jaeya Brach followed behind with 8. Hannah Joo registered 35 assists on the night.
 
"I think we just respected our opponent a little bit more and we were a bit more prepared for what they had to offer," said Claire Stewart. "Last night we came into it underestimating them a bit and we kind of fired up later on and realized this is someone we have to fight against."
 
"We had a slow start to set one and came in and had a really meaningful timeout about just being focused and bringing intensity to every single point," added head coach Melissa Bartlett. "And we played like that for the rest of the match and the results speak for themselves."
 
As an exchanging of points marked the start of the set, Ava Ebert tied things up with a kill at 9, before heading to the service line where she helped the Mustangs extend their lead by two.
 
The visitors in blue however would string together five consecutive points, inciting Western to take a timeout.
 
Claire Stewart stopped the Bold's streak with a powerful kill and followed it with a block, as her team looked to fight back in this set. Janelle Albert then tied it up at 14 for the purple and white.
 
Both teams remained on each other's heels with fighting spirit and the exchanging of points. Jaeya Brach put up two consecutive kills to put the 'Stangs up at 18-17, which Devin Gerth and Brach helped to extend with a block and kill respectively.
 
Rallying behind a Stewart serve, the purple and white got two points for a 22-17 score, as they looked to close out the set. Brach did just that for Western, as they took the opener 25-20.
 
Continuing where they left off, the Mustangs got out to an early 3-0 lead in the second, which they quickly extended to 9-2, led in part by a Hannah Joo serve.
 
Refusing to let Western walk away with the set, TMU fought back and cut the deficit to three at 10-7 and again at 12-9.
 
At 16-10, the visitors from Toronto called another timeout, yet a trio of Stewart kills helped Western take a 20-12 shortly after.
 
A TMU error closed out the set for the 'Stangs for a final 25-17 score.
 
Looking for a quick sweep, the purple and white faced a tougher Bold side in the third.
 
A big dig from Maddie Bowles helped Western regain the lead at 7-6, before Albert and Ebert helped their team register the next four points behind a Brach serve, forcing a TMU timeout.
 
A stoppage in play couldn't take Western out of their groove however, as they continued to ride the momentum to take the next three points for a 14-6 score.
 
Rallying behind a Joo serve, blocks by Stewart and Gerth alongside an Albert kill, TMU error and Joo ace put the Mustangs ahead 21-9. They would eventually close out the set 25-12.
 
"As a middle, the middles were really good and running a bit more of a varied offense and that showed through," said Stewart. "They camped out on the outsides and as soon as we started running the middles it was spread offense, they were frazzled, and we were pounding balls away."
 
"One of the things is we were able to rely on some depth," added Bartlett. "We started a couple different players which gives them a different look, which is an advantage for us. We also were able to make some key defensive adjustments from yesterday's film. Not only did we talk about them but executed on them which was great to see."
 
With the win, the Mustangs officially swept their opening weekend and now sit 2-0 on the season.
 
"[The win] feels great," said Stewart.
 
"The start of every season you think you're going to do well but you have to play the matches. That's a really well coached team with a lot of talent, so it's great to walk away with two wins and set our sights on a new opponent," said Bartlett.
 
The team now looks ahead to an exciting matchup against rival McMaster next week.
 
"I think [we need to go] into it prepared with an open mindset," said Stewart. "Make sure we are ready to be super adaptable because they are a team that last year we had trouble with. So as long as we can go in prepared and respect them."
 
"That's a rivalry game for us. I know both teams are going to be so ready to battle it out," concluded Bartlett. "We'll see who is best prepared to play on Friday night, that'll be the difference."
 
The Mustangs return to action Friday, November 11^th at 6pm as they welcome McMaster to Alumni Hall. Tickets can be purchased at westernmustangs.ca