<strong>London, ON</strong> -  The Mustangs Women's Volleyball team suffered their first straight-set loss of the season as the Brock Badgers opened the weekend set with Western with a 3-0 win on Friday night.<br /> <br /> &quot;After a loss, you tend to overanalyze everything, and I think what we decided is we didn't execute the game plan against a very good team,&quot; said Mustangs Head Coach Melissa Bartlett &quot;we're glad we get another opportunity to play them tomorrow.&quot;<br /> <br /> The opening half of the first set was extremely tight, with neither side getting more than a two-point lead. Brock went on a run starting 4-0 run from 16-15 to 19-15, but the Mustangs responded with a pair of powerful points, including a thundering kill from Claire Stewart to push the score to 19-17. After Brock extended their lead to 21-17, Western was forced to call a timeout. The Badgers would come out of the break with a 4-1 run and take the opening set 25-18.<br /> <br /> The Badgers continued their momentum into the start of the second set, after both sides split the opening four points, Brock 6-1 run to take an 8-3 lead and force Western to call a timeout. The Mustangs would battle back and found themselves within two points later in the set at 18-16. Brock would show their power, closing out the set with a 5-1 run and win the set 25-19, taking a 2-0 advantage in the match.<br /> <br /> The third set would open with a Mustangs point after the Badger committed a service error. After both sides exchanged points, Western would open up one of their largest leads of the night with a four-point cushion at 7-3, forcing Brock to take a timeout. As the set moved along towards the midway point, the score would tighten up with both sides tied at 13-13. Brock would pull out another second-half surge, including a 7-1 run, opening up a 20-15 lead. The Badger would finish strong again and take the match victory with a 25-20 win.<br /> <br /> &quot;These matches and really our next four matches are awesome learning opportunities for us, and they're the types of experiences we need to be successful in the playoffs,&quot; said Bartlett &quot;Tomorrow's senior day, there's a lot of fun that comes with that and we're looking forward to celebrating our seniors and having a slightly different crew on the court tomorrow, which will help, I think.&quot;<br /> <br /> <u><strong>KEY STATS</strong></u><br /> Emma Buntic – 10 kills and 2 digs<br /> Claire Stewart – 7 kills, 3 digs and 1 service ace<br /> Lael Harrison – 9 digs and 4 kills<br /> <br /> <br /> <u><strong>NEXT GAME</strong></u><br /> The Mustangs will take on the Badger again tomorrow (Saturday, January 25) for a 2:00 pm start. It is also the last regular season home game for the women's team, and we will celebrate the graduating senior class of 2024 after the game.<br />