Box Score With a lot on the line on the final day of the season, the Nipissing Lakers men’s volleyball hit the court at home.
The Lakers faced the Western Mustangs for the second straight day, looking for the weekend sweep and a higher spot in the OUA Playoffs.
The Lakers fall short in a five-set thriller today, losing 3-2 to the Mustangs.
In the first set, Western controlled play early and grabbed a 9-6 lead to kick things off.
They continued to stay out in front for most of the set, leading 16-12 midway through the game and sat ahead by two as the teams hit the 20-point mark.
Up 22-20, the Mustangs closed things out with a 3-2 run, taking the set 25-22.
Nipissing answered back in the early stages of the second set, jumping out to a 10-5 lead.
They stayed ahead on the scoreboard through the midway point, up 16-11 and hit 20 points, ahead by a pair.
Up 23-21 late, the Lakers closed out the set, earning a 25-23 win to tie the match up, 1-1.
The third set was full of dramatics and highlights on both sides of the net.
Going from 7-7 to 16-16 and then to 19-19, the teams were within a point or tied basically the entire set.
Western led 22-20 and 23-21 before the Lakers came back to take a 26-25 lead, scoring five of the next seven points.
Nipissing outlasted Western, winning 29-27 to go up 2-1 in the match.
The Lakers kept rolling, up 7-3 early on in the fourth set as they looked to close out the match.
They were also first to hit 20, going up 20-18, but Western fought back to tie things up at 20-20 late in the game.
While it looked like the Lakers were in good shape to finish things off, the Mustangs stormed back to take the fourth set 25-23 and extend the match to a fifth and deciding game.
In the fifth, Western jumped out to an early lead and didn’t let up.
They grabbed an early 3-1 lead and expanded that to 9-3 just after the midway point.
The Lakers fought back and trailed just 10-7 towards the end of the set.
Another push by Western had Nipissing on the verge and with the teams trading points, Western put the set away, winning 15-11 and claimed the match 3-2.
Jackson Young posted 19 kills, Jacob Ringma added 15, while Tyrus Cuculick and Jeremie Murray each chipped in with 10 for the Lakers.
Nipissing will hit the road for Round 1 if the OUA Playoffs next weekend.
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