The only word to describe the Western men’s volleyball team is clutch. In a 3-0 victory against the Windsor Lancers Friday evening, the Mustangs extended their winning streak to 11 games.
Although Windsor was defeated in straight sets, not a single one was decided by a margin greater than three – 25-23, 25-22 and 25-22. In fact, each set was 20-20 heading into the final five deciding points.
Windsor’s Josh Edwards, who had a team-high 14 points, felt his team cracked under the pressure late in each set, costing the Lancers the win.
“We couldn’t keep the ball in play […],” he said. “We definitely had one of our better games but it just came down to last minute errors. We just need to limit those errors [and] we know we can play with these guys.”
Lancer head coach Huub Kemmere also emphasized the impact of costly mistakes.
“Late in the game we made a couple unforced errors. Whether it was a missed serve […] or a missed assignment at 22-21 in the third set, all of a sudden it’s a two point differential and that’s the difference in the game,” he said.
Western opened the first set looking lost. Missed blocks and a tentative attack led to them being outscored 16-11 by the second technical timeout.
The turning point for the Mustangs came at the hands of veteran centre Eric Simon, who pounded a kill into the chest of Windsor’s Justin Kuskoff, knocking him clean off his feet and tying the game 20-20. The momentum shift propelled Western to steal the first set 25-23.
Western was in complete control in the second frame, dictating the pace from their first point, leading to a deceptively close three-point set victory.
Second-year outside hitter Mathieu Poulin was a menace in the final two frames for the ‘Stangs, playing solid defence while captaining an offensive assault. Poulin finished the game with an impressive nine digs, 12 kills and 13 points.
Western head coach Jim Sage had some encouraging words for the breakout sophomore.
“He’s had an outstanding second half,” Sage said. “He gives us a right side presence that causes a lot of problems for teams to defend. It’s such a pleasant surprise for a second-year player to be playing at his level.”
The third set proved to be a seesaw battle, leading to the familiar 20-20 plateau. Nevertheless, Windsor’s 21 total errors caught up with them as they faltered once again, dropping the final set 25-22.
With only five games remaining in the regular season, the Mustangs will need to continue to play at the top of their game if they want to keep a hold on first place in the division.
“We understand how important that start is. In our post-game [discussion], we said we’re number one in Ontario and team’s are going to love to play us. We need to play like we’re number one and realize we can’t afford to take any points off or we’ll be sorry,” Sage