Friday, October 30
The Mustangs Open the Season with a 3-2 Win Against the Lancers
Game Recap:
LONDON, ON -
The Mustangs were back on the court this volleyball season with an exciting home opener against the Windsor Lancers!
The game started off strong with the Mustangs in the lead 6-4, with some crazy kills on the left-side. Windsor then called a timeout at 9-4 in efforts to close the gap early on. At 10-8 Western, the Lancers were beginning to benefit from Western's errors. The teams were returning kills back and forth until the Mustangs took advantage of a service error and hit the Lancers with a service ace at 15-10. After a few back-and-forth kills from the teams alongside a service ace from Windsor, the Lancers were able to catch up and tie the score at 17-17, resulting in a timeout from the Mustangs. The teams were neck-to-neck with straight hits. Then with 2 blocks in a row, the Lancers were up 21-18, and Western called another timeout. After a few errors and a kill from the Lancers, the score got to 23-18 Windsor. Then with a kill, Windsor took the first set at 25-18.
The second set began rockier for the Mustangs, with the Lancers in the lead 6-5 after a few attack errors. The game went on with kills on both sides until Western then had a few service and attack errors, giving Windsor the lead at 12-9. Then, after a few errors from the Lancers and a kill from Western, the Mustangs tied the score at 12-12. The teams then exchanged kills from then on until they tied again at 16-16. The Lancers then took the lead again at 20-17, with an ace and the Mustangs' errors. Western also asked for a timeout. After an attack error, Western called another timeout at 22-17. The Mustangs were able to get in a few points with some perseverance and nice ball placement. The Lancers then called a timeout at 24-21. The Lancers finished off the second set at 25-22, making it a 2-0 game.
"Normally when you lose the first two sets you feel like you have to make a lot of changes, but we didn't. They made the changes themselves and played a tad sharper and more connected." - Coach Melissa
The third set wasn't a good start for the Mustangs, with the Lancers ahead 6-0 after a few kills and service aces. Western ended up calling a timeout as well. Western was able to bring themselves up to 10-7 with a crazy block by Coonfer and a kill by Ebert, resulting in a timeout Windsor. Although the Mustangs were able to gain a few points, the Lancers stayed ahead at 14-11. After a few kills, Western was able to lower the gap to 17-15. The Mustangs caught up to the Lancers and tied the game at 18-18. With a comeback from Western, Windsor called a timeout at 20-19. The Mustangs really pushed through and persevered this set, ending it off with their first set win at 25-21, extending the game 2-1.
"We've been working a lot on mental performance and so using those tools in game today really helped and improved our performance in the last sets." - Ava Ebert
The fourth set began pretty well for Western with a tie score of 6-6. The Mustangs were really making use of the Lancers errors, but were also keeping their momentum up at 10-8. The teams were sending back-to-back kills at 13-13. After a kill and service ace from the Mustangs, the Lancers called a timeout at 18-16. Then at 20-19, Windsor, Western asked for a timeout. With a tie score at 22-22, the Lancers called another timeout. With a service error from the Lancers, the Mustangs took another set at 25-22, making it a 2-2 game with a crazy comeback.
The Final set started off well for the Mustangs with a score of 4-0 and a timeout from the Lancers. Western was up 6-4, making most of the Lancers errors this set. After a service error from Windsor, the score was 8-5 Western. The Mustangs then had a few kills, resulting in another timeout from Windsor at 11-6. Then, with a crazy kill by Buntic, the Mustangs ended their first season game at 15-8, with a 3-2 win against the Windsor Lancers!
"We have a lot of belief in our team, and I think it shows because we stayed with the same group today." - Coach Melissa
Team Stats:
Emma Buntic – 18 Kills, 8 Digs, 1 Block
Nyla Tukker – 10 Kills, 7 Digs, 1 Block
Toni Wilson – 11 Kills, 4 Digs
Ava Ebert – 6 Kills, 2 Digs, 3 Blocks
