The Western Mustangs met with the Nipissing Lakers in their second game of the week on Saturday. The team came away with a win on Friday and looked to secure a second win on Saturday. The Mustangs took the first two sets with the Lakers getting the third, pushing the game to a fourth set which the Mustangs won.
The Lakers got two points on the board early in the first set but a ball tipped over by Amit Sayal found the far end of the court which got Western their first point of the game. A kill from Blake Fenwick put another point on the board. The Lakers pushed ahead in the points but a kill from Jason Guy brought the Mustangs within two points of the Lakers. Miscommunication between the Lakers saw no one able to get the ball over the net which brought the Mustangs within one point of the Lakers. A ball sent out of bounds by Nipissing equalized the points at 10-10. A few points later, a ball tapped over the net by Josiah Esau found the middle of the court which put the Mustangs two points ahead of the Lakers causing Nipissing to call for a timeout. The Lakers came out of the timeout and were able to equalize at 12-12. A kill from Amit Sayal and a block from Jonah Millard and Sayal pushed the Mustangs three points ahead of the Lakers. A kill from Jonah Millard put the team within four points of the set win and the Lakers called for a timeout. A short serve from the Lakers gives the Mustangs the first set with a final score of 19-25.
The Lakers started the second set strong getting the first few points on the board. The Mustangs responded by working to get points on the board. The Lakers maintained a point lead but a kill from Jonah Millard put the Mustangs within two points with the score being 10-8 to the Lakers. A ball going out of bounds off the fingertips of a Lakers player closed the points gap to one. A ball tipped over the net by Blake Fenwick pushed the Mustangs into the points lead causing a timeout to be called by the Lakers. The Lakers put the pressure on the Mustangs after the timeout and equalized with a kill. A long serve and a ball sent out of bounds by the Lakers put the Mustangs three points ahead. Amit Sayal was able to send a ball over the net which the Lakers were unable to return after a long rally where both teams worked to keep the ball alive, giving the team energy late into the second set. When the Mustangs got within five points of the set win, the Lakers called for a time out. A kill from Blake Fenwick put the team within three points of the set win. A double block from Blake Fenwick and Kendall Homenick put the team within one point of the set win. The Lakers kept the pressure on, closing the points gap to one. After the ball was set by Josiah Esau, Cade Smith got a kill and getting the set win for the Mustangs.
The Lakers get on the board first, but the Mustangs quickly equalized. The teams traded points with Amit Sayal equalizing the score to 6-6 after a kill that found the far right of the court. Blake Fenwick pushed the Mustangs into the point lead with a kill on the next point. Despite the Lakers pushing ahead in the points the Mustangs maintained a small gap between the two teams. After a timeout is called, a kill from Kendall Homenick and a ball going out of bounds off the hand of a Lakers player brings the score to 19-19 and a timeout is called. The Lakers got within three points of the set win which caused Western to call for a timeout. After the timeout, a block from the Lakers was sent into the net putting the score at 22-21 to the Lakers. The Lakers maintained the pressure on the Mustangs and were able to win the third set with a score of 25-22.
The Lakers got the first two points on the board and kept putting the pressure on the Mustangs. Despite this, the Mustangs kept the energy high. A double block from Josiah Esau and Kendall Homenick put the score at 5-4 to the Lakers. After a short service from Western, Blake Fenwick finds a way through the Lakers block and can send a kill over the net. After the Lakers pushed four points ahead, the Mustangs called for a timeout. The Mustangs won the first point after the timeout with a block from Cade Smith and Kendall Homenick adding another point to the Mustangs scoreboard. After a ball is sent out of bounds by the Lakers which gave the Mustangs the point lead, the Lakers call for a timeout. Both teams were competitive coming out of the timeout, but the Mustangs were able to push to a two point lead. After a serve is sent over by the Lakers that just tipped over the net, Blake Fenwick gets a dig to keep the ball alive with Josiah Esau setting the ball for Kendall Homenick to get a kill. The Mustangs worked to maintain their point lead. A triple block from Cade Smith, Amit Sayal, and Jonah Millard put the Mustangs within four points of the set win. The Mustangs came away with the win and a final score of 22-25.
The team will take on Toronto Metropolitan on January 5th.