This is not the first time this season these teams would face off, as the Mustangs took a dominant 3-0 win over Waterloo earlier this month.
The two teams exchanged points to start the first set, to make the set 5 a piece with effective bump, set and kill plays. Western looked to middle Jackson Bere, who remained dominant down the middle.
Blake Fenwick had good placement on a serve to give Western their first lead, 9-8, but the Warriors would get the next point to tie it up. The home team would continue their forceful play eventually going up 15-11 and forcing a Western timeout. Half of Western’s points were from Waterloo service errors.
The purple and white couldn’t mount a comeback against a dominant in-form Waterloo team and would lose the first set 25-14. The Warriors played an almost perfect set, complete with no hitting errors and 14 kills.
The Mustangs would look to rebound in the second set and got off to a hot start going up 2-0, as they began to mix up their attack.
A big block saw the Warriors beginning to close in on a Mustang lead, but back-row production from Amit Sayal and Fenwick saw the Mustangs head into a timeout up 13-9.
Waterloo would battle back however and tie it up at 17-17. The teams would exchange points up until Western found themselves up 22-20, leading to a timeout taken by the home side.
Errors at the service line by both teams would see the score go to 23-21, and a huge block put Western within reach of tying up the match. The Mustangs would secure the second set after a net violation by Waterloo, leaving much of the game still to play.
Western found themselves down by 3 early on in the third set, as the Warriors piled on the kills and stood strong with their blocks. Attacking errors proved to be costly, with the Mustangs having triple the amount as their opponent at this point.
After winning a point, the purple and white sent Bere to the service line and sparked a slight comeback. Jonah Millard followed it up with some kills, helping to minimize the deficit and only have the Mustangs down 12-9. It wouldn’t be enough however, as Waterloo would get the next 4 points, extending their lead to 16-9.
The purple and white showed their resiliency as they refused to quit and decreased the Warrior lead, headed by Bere, who at this point had 8 kills on 10 swings. Bere would continue his dominant showing, putting the Mustangs behind by only 2 as the scoreboard read 18-16.
Western shut the door in the middle and produced back-to-back blocks as they refused to let the Warriors take the set easily at 23-22. An out of bounds hit from Waterloo would tie it up, yet a service error would then see the home side re-take the lead and serve for the set.
The Warriors would be successful in holding off a Western comeback, taking a tight third set 25-23.
The fourth set brought forth an early 5-2 lead for the home team, but they were unable to extend it as Western kept fighting back in this do-or-die set. The purple and white produced a forceful 6-0 run to take the lead 8-5.
The comeback was now for Waterloo to complete, which they did successfully as they tied up the score 9-9 with an ace.
The teams continued to trade points, leaving no clear frontrunner for the set. A Waterloo 4-0 run finished off with an ace would see the Warriors up 16-14 at the technical timeout. Waterloo would ride this momentum, and collect 4 more points in comparison to Western’s 1, for a 20-15 score.
The home team would eventually take the fourth set 25-19, winning the match 3-1 against the visiting Mustangs. Western drops to 1-2 on the season, as Waterloo improves to 2-2.
The two teams will face off again tomorrow evening at 6pm at Alumni Hall for Western’s home opener.
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