London, ON – The Mustangs concluded their weekend doubleheader against Toronto on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Hall, taking home a win in five sets.
Western topped the Varsity Blues in four sets on Saturday night, but were ready to face a Toronto side full of changes and adjustments. The Mustangs took the first set 25-14, dropped the second and third 25-23 and 25-20, before forcing a fifth set with a 25-19 fourth-set win. The 'Stangs claimed the fifth set 15-9 to secure the victory.
Janelle Albert led the way with 24 kills, 7 aces and 2 blocks for 32 total points in the match. Devin Gerth had 11 kills and an ace of her own, while Hannah Joo had 49 assists and 3 blocks.
"Toronto went after us and really went after our block and it worked," said head coach Melissa Bartlett. "It had us frazzled for a bit so we had to make some adjustments both on the court and by using different players to come in that had different strengths. That was a great match to prepare us to figure out how to win when it's not so easy."
"I think Toronto came out swinging and used our block more than they did yesterday," added Kylie Maxwell. "It was nice to see us bounce back, especially in that fifth set, re-find our block, and shut them out."
A block by Claire Stewart got things started for the 'Stangs, which Janelle Albert followed up with her first ace of the night. Western then found themselves up 7-1 early on as Toronto called timeout.
Kills from Devin Gerth and Ava Ebert alongside an ace from Stewart extended the lead even more for Western before Toronto got their second point of the afternoon.
The purple and white continued their dominant play and comfortably took the first set 25-14 off of an Albert kill.
"Janelle [Albert] shows up in the moments that matter most," said Bartlett. "She is a tremendous leader and brings out the best in her teammates. 24 kills 7 aces and 2 blocks from 32 points is pretty outstanding."
The second set looked a bit different from the first for Western. With things tied at three, it was the visitors in navy who then found a lead at 5-4 which they held onto as the Mustangs called timeout and looked to regroup at 11-7.
A block from Stewart and Kate Van Camp sent the crowd cheering at 12-9, while another ace from Albert and kill from Gerth brought the 'Stangs within one at 12-11.
Toronto held on the lead ever so slightly until Western tied things at 19 off of an Albert kill.
Despite saving set point twice, the Mustangs ultimately dropped the set 25-23.
"In the second set coming off a big win in the first, you go in more relaxed which isn't always the best," said Maxwell. "We just needed to pick our energy up and refocus."
A kill and ace from Albert kick-started the third set for Western, but an early lead quickly diminished as the Varsity Blues found even at 11 before taking the lead moments later.
While the Mustangs put forth some strong efforts to climb back as the visitors led 23-16, Toronto ultimately took the set 25-20.
Back-to-back aces from Albert set the tone for the fourth as the Mustangs looked to force a fifth set. Rachel Gray had a back-to-back pair of her own moments later to put Western up by five points at 8-3.
"Especially if I'm on the bench, you're just trying to bring as much energy as you can, whether that's cheering or doing crazy cheers on the side," said Maxwell on the team's response after dropping two sets. "We want it to feed [onto the court]."
With the scoreboard reading 17-16 in favour of Western, the 'Stangs took the next three points to gain a small cushion. A Joo ace extended the lead even more, as Jaeya Brach eventually secured the set 25-19 with a block.
Western took a 4-1 lead in the deciding set, while a kill from Ebert saw them double up on Toronto at 6-3.
The visitors fought back, eventually cutting their deficit to one, but the 'Stangs remained in the driver's seat at 10-6 off of a point from Gray.
A block by Stewart kept the ball rolling, which she followed with another block alongside Albert to put the purple and white three points away from victory.
Stewart put up another block, this time with Brach, while an ace from Albert gave match-point to Western at 14-8.
"I want to highlight [Claire Stewart]," said Bartlett. "Claire had a career-high of nine blocks today. A bunch of players stepping up in big moments is really exciting to see as we go into the heart of our season."
A block from Gray claimed the set 15-9 for the Mustangs.
With the win Western improves to 13-2 on the season while Toronto drops to 5-10 with the loss. The win holds extra importance for the 'Stangs in terms of playoff hosting.
"It's a big win, we are playing for those final four hosting spots," said Maxwell. "We are hoping to host the semi-finals and finals here and bring in a big Western crowd so that's really what we are playing for."
Up next is a big opponent in Queen's, as Western will hit the road for the final time in the regular season this upcoming weekend for a two-game series.
"This is a game the girls are excited for so I'm excited for a great week of practice," said Bartlett. "It'll be our toughest road challenge this year which is exciting in and of itself. They've got a lot of depth similar to us so you're not sure who's going to be on the court so you have to prepare for a lot of players."
"It's tough. In the last two years we haven't played Queen's so it's going to be a different environment," added Maxwell. "We are going to have to prep a lot for it. But I'm really excited, they're a big team we haven't got to play before so it'll be a good game."
The Mustangs are next in action on Friday, February 3
rd, as they take on Queen's in Kingston. First-serve is set for 6pm with the action available to watch on OUA.tv
