Hamilton, ON – In their first matchup of the post season against the McMaster Marauders, the Mustangs took it in thrilling fashion 3-2 on Saturday evening.
The number two and three seed, with 8-4 and 6-5 records respectively, met two times during the regular season, with McMaster taking the win on both occasions.
Despite McMaster having won the two previous meetings, the team’s proved to be very evenly matched which showed throughout the competitiveness and closeness of Saturday’s quarterfinal.
Jaeya Brach led the way for the Mustangs with 16 kills, while Lauren Pastor had 3 aces to her name.
Pastor kicked things off for the Mustangs with her first service ace, which the purple and white then turned into an early 4-2 lead. The hosts would put up three consecutive points to get their first lead at 5-4. They would hold onto it and lead 16-11 at the technical timeout.
Rallying behind captain Kate Van Camp’s serve, the ‘Stangs would close the gap to 3, keeping the first set in play.
Down 20-16, Western called a timeout which proved to be pivotal, as they then won 4 out of the next 5 points to cut the gap, as Pastor continued her solid serving. A hitting error by McMaster would give Western the lead at 22-21, to make it 5 consecutive points for the Mustangs.
The comeback would fall just short however, as the Marauders took the first 25-23.
Brach continued her strong play on the night to help the Mustangs go up 4-2 to start the second as they looked to tie things up.
A Pastor ace and Brach point would see Western go ahead 13-12, however much like the first, it remained closed as neither team could break away, as they settled for exchanged points.
Some key blocks would give McMaster the first substantial lead of the set at 22-19, but Western would string together 4 straight points, with another Pastor ace and Brach hit to go up 23-22.
Van Camp would finish off the set for a 25-23 Western win.
The third set wasn’t as close.
McMaster got off to a 10-5 lead in the third and would double up on the ‘Stangs again at 12-6 and 16-8 to trigger the technical timeout.
The Marauders would run away with the set and claim it 25-11.
The purple and white got out to a quick 7-1 start with their season on the line in the fourth. McMaster would battle back and tie it up at 11 with a momentum shift in their favour.
Westerns determination and composure would shine through, as they refused to get rattled but rather fought hard, eventually leading at the technical timeout 16-13.
It remained close for most of the set, but Lexi Iggulden would finish it off at 25-23 for Western as they forced a fifth and deciding set.
Janelle Albert got the Mustangs on the board to start the decider, while a Brooklyn Bere ace tied it at 2.
The two sides continued to exchange points, but the purple and white would get four points in a row to go up 8-6.
The ‘Stangs claimed the match 15-11 off of an Albert serve, as the bench erupted into cheers after a valiant, hard-fought battle.
With this win the Mustangs advance to the OUA Semifinals and will travel to St. Catharines to take on the Brock Badgers this Wednesday. The action will be available to watch at OUA.tv