London, ON – The Mustangs hosted the Queen’s Gaels at Alumni Hall on Saturday afternoon for quarterfinal action, where they ultimately fell in straight sets, bringing their season to an end.
Western finished the regular season in second place in the OUA with a 17-3 record, while Queen’s sat in seventh having gone 11-9 on the season. With the first round of playoffs taking place today however, it’s the Gaels moving on as they claimed the victory with 25-23, 25-22 and 25-21 set wins.
Rachel Gray led Western with 11 kills and 1 service ace with a total of 13.5 points. Devin Gerth followed with 6 kills.
“We had so much respect for that team and their record did not indicate their strength and we saw that today,” said head coach Melissa Bartlett. “All the credit to them, they played one of their best matches of the year and that’s what it was going to take to beat us.”
With the spotlights shining bright on Alumni Hall, the Mustangs entered the court ready to begin their playoff journey at home in front of an energizing crowd of purple and white, in what would prove to be a battle.
Western found themselves down 4-1 early on to their rivals in yellow in the first set, but kills from Ava Ebert, Rachel Gray and Claire Stewart alongside a big block from Stewart and Hannah Joo brought the ‘Stangs within one at 7-6.
Down by three at 14-11, Jaeya Brach put up a big solo block which she then followed with a kill that sent echoes of cheers throughout the gym eliciting a Queen’s timeout. Ebert tied things up for the purple and white after the timeout while Gray gave the ‘Stangs the lead right after as the score read 15-14.
The ‘Stangs continued to ride their point steak until Queen’s got a kill to make the score 18-15. The Gaels took the next five of seven points to tie things up at 20. While some errors from the Gaels kept things close, Western ultimately dropped the set 25-23.
An ace from Joo started the second set for Western, but the two sides soon sat tied at three and again at eight.
Down 10-9, Janelle Albert followed a powerful kill with two service aces to put the purple and white ahead at 12-10.
The two team’s continued to exchange points and keep things close. Tied at 14, the purple and white took the next five points that included a block from Stewart, kill from Devin Gerth and ace from Gray.
While points from Gerth and Joo put Western up by five at 21-16, the Gaels took the next six points to take the lead. Queen’s eventually took the set 25-22.
Fighting with their season on the line, the Mustangs searched to claw back from a slight 11-7 deficit in the third. Western took four of the next five points, two of which came from Gray, to come back within one at 12-11. Stewart then tied things up at 13 for the purple and white moments later.
As a block from Ebert and Gray had Western behind by only one at 20-19, Queen’s continued to pile on the pressure and took five of the next seven points to ultimately claim the set 25-21, ending the Mustangs’ season.
“We are all a little bit surprised,” said Bartlett on the loss. “We always have a lot of confidence but we both knew each other well but they were able to execute better on some of those tendencies.”
The loss officially concludes the 2022-23 season for the ‘Stangs, with lots to be proud of all around. Despite the emotional loss, it was messages of positivity that were echoed throughout the squad.
“The only thing I said to them after this match was that I’m really proud of how we carried ourselves,” concluded Bartlett. “It was hard from the get-go, they really had our number, and things that normally work for us weren’t working, and we were able to keep our heads high and stay positive and play connected in the face of a real challenge. I’m really proud we were able to do that when it mattered.”
Stay tuned to the rest of the Mustangs team’s and OUA playoffs and other competitions at westernmustangs.ca
This article is shared as part of our Fair Dealing Policy. For the original article, please visit: https://westernmustangs.ca/news/2023/2/25/womens-volleyball-mustangs-season-concludes-with-3-0-quarterfinal-loss-to-queen-s.aspx
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