London, ON – The Mustangs moved to 5-1 on the season with a pair of wins over McMaster this weekend.
"The guys really showed signs of maturity and got the job done," said Mustangs Head Coach Jim Sage.
GAME RECAPS
Friday, November 14
The Mustangs started the first set with confidence and built an early lead by staying clean offensively and forcing the Marauders into mistakes. Western played well with tough serves and strong net play that put McMaster under pressure. The Marauders tried to come back, but every time the score got close the Mustangs fought with another point run to stay in front. The Mustangs closed out the set 25–22.
The second set was a close score for the teams, with both the Mustangs and Marauders trading points. Western picked up the pace halfway by tightening up their blocking and forcing McMaster into repeated hitting mistakes, which created a big gap. The Marauders tried to respond with a small push, but every time McMaster got closer the Mustangs answered with another point to stay in front. Western kept playing with confidence late in the set and did not allow McMaster to do anything. The Mustangs finished strong to take the set 25–21.
The Mustangs came out strong in the third set and quickly took control with confident serving and steady play at the net. Western kept the pressure on by winning some rallies and forcing the Marauders into mistakes that kept them in the lead. McMaster tried to shift the momentum midway through the set, but every push was answered and the Mustangs stayed fully in rhythm. The Mustangs finished it off 25–19, 3-0.
KEY STATS
Kills – Cade Smith (11), Cameron McGregor (8), Nic Silon (6)
Blocks – Cade Smith (3.0), Cameron McGregor (2.0), Nic Silon (2.0)
Digs – Andrew Kerkhoff (7), Jayden Talsma (6), Michael Jones (5)
Saturday, November 15
The game started off strong for the Mustangs with an 8-4 lead, resulting in an early timeout from the Marauders. Western was doing good with lots of kills and benefiting from the Marauders' mistakes. The Mustangs were ahead 17-11 at this point, taking advantage of the errors from McMaster. McMaster then called a timeout at 20-14. The Marauders had a short run of hits, bringing them up 19-24. The Mustangs took the set at 25-19 with a good momentum.
The second set was more even between the teams with a tied score of 6-6. The Mustangs were making a few more errors this set while the Marauders began to fight harder for points. McMaster then called a timeout at 11-8. The Marauders were catching up from Western errors and a sick kill by them at 15-13. McMaster brought in some back-to-back nasty kills at 18-16. As the Marauders began to come back, the Mustangs called a timeout at 19-18. The score was very close this set with McMaster in the lead 21-20. Western then called another timeout. At 24-23, the Marauders called a timeout as Western was also catching up. The Mustangs ended up winning a hard-fought set at 26-24.
The third set began closer for the teams, with the Mustangs up 8-6. The Marauders then tied the score at 9-9, taking advantage of Western's errors. Western then called a timeout at 12-10 to try and close the gap. After 2 kills, the Mustangs tied the score at 1-13, in efforts to keep the streak. With McMaster ahead at 17-13, Western asked for another timeout. At this point the Marauders were up 22-18. The Mustangs were able to close the gap a little due to their errors. McMaster ended up winning this set at 24-21, making it a 2-1 game.
The fourth set started quite similarly to the last, with a tie score at 7-7. McMaster seemed to have found their rhythm with points racking up quickly for the team. The Marauders fought hard to gain the leverage at 10-9. Western was able to come back and gain the lead at 15-14, resulting in a timeout from the Marauders. The teams tied again at 18 all. After a crazy rally, the Mustangs got ahead 20-19. At 21-19, McMaster asked for a timeout. The Mustangs finished off the set at 25-21, getting another win for the weekend at 3-1.
"We played really well, even when we lost, we were able to bounce back and push harder." said Kendall Homenick
KEY STATS
Kills – Cade Smith (18), Kendall Homenick (9), Jayden Talsma (8)
Blocks – Nic Silon (5.0),Cade Smith (2.0), Jayden Talsma (2.0)
Digs – Michael Jones (13), Andrew Kerkhoff (10), Cameron McGregor (9)
NEXT GAME
Western will host Windsor next weekend for their final home weekend of the 2025 portion of the schedule. The first game is set for Friday, November 21 at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available at WesternMustangs.ca/Tickets, and Western students get free admission with a valid Western ONECard.
