The Western women’s volleyball team proved they can compete with the best.
The Mustangs took on 2009 Ontario University Athletics champions, the York Lions, on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Hall.
“They are always a tough team to play against so we’re really happy with the way we played today,” Mustangs head coach Dean Lowrie said.
Thanks to their strong two-way play, it was the Mustangs who came out on top, beating the Lions in straight sets and earning their second win of the weekend.
“Western did a really good job of putting us under pressure the whole match,” York Lions head coach Nick Tran said. “They never gave us a chance to get comfortable.”
The Mustangs started the first set on the right foot as they were able to take the early 6-1 lead. However, the Lions battled back hard, but ultimately clutch serving from Western’s substitution Rebecca Oxland closed out the first set 25-19 in Western’s favour.
The Mustangs came out swinging in the second, and were once again able to benefit from the quick start, staying ahead at all technical timeouts and finishing with a 25-19 set victory.
“The girls started and finished each set really strong,” Lowie said. “We played good defence and I thought our attack was pretty clean.”
The Western attack consisted of timely kills contributed from all their hitters, especially Elaine Screaton and Sarah Johnston, who led the way with 13 points each. Mustangs’ setter, Jenna Thompson, also produced a great performance, leading the team with 34 assists and earning herself player of the game.
“We played really clean; we didn’t make a lot of errors,” Thompson said. “We were attacking at all different angles, and they didn’t know how to score on us.”
Trying to avoid the sweep, York kept it close in the third set, which saw both teams exchange the lead several times. Finally with the score deadlocked at 23-23, Screaton delivered a monster kill gaining the set point. Western was able to capitalize on the opportunity and took the thrilling set by a final score of 25-23.
“They showed a lot of grit, determination and desire on defence in the third,” Tran said about his team. “Give credit to Western, they never gave up.”
The Mustangs have had to battle the injury bug this season, but after the pair of wins it looks like a healthier Western squad is returning to their winning ways.
“We were in first place a couple weeks ago until we had all those injuries,” Lowrie said after the game. “Now we are battling our way back up the standings.”
The Mustangs picked up four points from their weekend sweep, allowing them to climb up the leader board, and now sit tied for third place with the University of Guelph.
“We put ourselves in a tight spot so that now we have to actually worry about making playoffs,” Thompson said. “It’s nice to come out of this weekend playing well and feeling good about it.”
The Mustangs will try to carry over their success into next weekend, as they host the Windsor Lancers and the Guelph Gryphons.