London, ON – The Mustangs Men's Volleyball team swept the opening weekend of the 2025 season with a pair of wins over the Guelph Gryphons.

GAME RECAPS

Friday, October 24

The game got off to a good start for the Mustangs with a 6-2 lead to open up the set. After a crazy attack line hit, the Mustangs were up 14-10. At 15-10, Guelph ended up calling a timeout to lessen the gap. The Gryphons called their second time out after the Mustangs had a couple of nasty hits at 18-12. Western made a few errors which resulted in a comeback from the Gryphons at 19-18. The Mustangs also called a timeout. With a service ace by the Mustangs the score was at 24-21. Western won the first set at 25-21.

The second set had a slower push for the Mustangs after a few attacks at 7-5. Western then gained it back at 7-7. At this point in the game, the teams were getting points off of each other's mistakes. The Gryphons were up 16-15. With the Mustangs ahead 19-17, the Gryphons asked for a timeout. Western had a couple of kills and a service ace, bringing them up 22-18, resulting in another timeout by Guelph. The Mustangs won another set at 25-21.

In the Third set, Guelph ensured that the scores stayed close early on at 6-6. However the Mustangs fought back to gain the leverage at 8-7. Western stayed in the lead with some kills and aces. This led to a timeout by Guelph at 14-11. The Mustangs kept going steady in the lead at 20-16, resulting in another timeout by the Gryphons. Western won the set at 25-20, and finished off with a 3-0 win.

"We accomplished some of the goals we set out to do and had a good overall contribution from everyone," said Mustangs Head Coach Jim Sage.

KEY STATS:

Kills – Cade Smith (13), Oliver Toomes (9), Cameron McGregor (8)

Blocks – Kendall Homenick (3.0), Nicolas Silon (2.0), Cade Smith (1.0)

Digs – Cade Smith (11), Michael Jones (9), Andrew Kerkhoff (6)

Saturday, October 25

The game got off to a rougher start to the night for the Mustangs, with the Gryphon's ahead 7-4. Western however, was able to reset and catch up to them at 8-8. The teams were right behind one another in every play. After a couple of errors from the Gryphons, the Mustangs were able to tie the score at 18-18, resulting in a timeout from Guelph. Western then called a timeout at 20-19 to make up for the last point. With the Mustangs ahead due to silly mistakes, the Gryphons called another timeout. Western won the first set 25-23.

Similarly to the last set, the Mustangs had a slower start with a score of 8-4, resulting in a timeout for Western. The Mustangs seemed to be making many small errors. After an insane block from the Gryphons, Western called their second timeout at 16-9. The Mustangs were losing quite a bit of points off their blocks and by getting blocked. Guelph then called a timeout at 20-16. Things weren't looking great for the Mustangs with Guelph ahead 23-16. The Gryphons won this set 25-16, making it a 1-1 game.

Unlike the last two sets, this one was good so far for the Mustangs with their 8-4 lead. The Gryphons asked for a timeout. Guelph began to close the gap, benefiting from Western's errors. The Mustangs were able to ensure the score stayed distant this led the Gryphons to call a timeout at 14-9. The set continued on well for the Mustangs with a 21-14 advantage. They were really making use of their blocking ability this set alongside their nice kills. Western won the set 25-17 to make it a 2-1 game.

The Mustangs had a tough start to the set with a score of 8-4 for Guelph. The Mustangs were able to come back and tie the score at 10-10. Western was able to get the leverage after a few kills and errors from the Gryphons at 17-14. Once the Mustangs got to 19, Guelph asked for a timeout. The Mustangs then called another timeout. Western won the game 25-21, taking another win for the weekend.

"We had a lot of depth in our game today. Guelph played a lot better, so we had to make quick fixes. It was a hard-fought win," said Outside Hitter Ethan Fields.

"We pulled them out on the last couple of points there, that was a good finish for us," said Mustangs Head Coach Jim Sage.

KEY STATS

Kills – Oliver Toomes (16), Cade Smith (9), Cameron McGregor (8)

Blocks – Michael Jones (2), Kendall Homenick (2), Cade Smith (2)

Digs – Andrew Kerkhoff (11), Michael Jones (6), Cameron McGregor (6)

Next Game:
The Mustangs are headed to St. Catharines next weekend for a pair of games against Brock. The first game is set for Friday, October 21, at 8:00 PM. Fans can watch the action on OUA.tv.