London, ON – The Mustangs played host to Trent Friday night, securing a straight sets victory at Alumni Hall to open the weekend series against the visiting Excalibur’s.
Coming off two losses away at York last weekend, the purple and white came out firing against a Trent side still looking for their first win of the season. The Mustangs took the first set 25-18, which they followed with 25-12 wins in the second and third to complete the sweep.
“Coming off of a tough weekend last week, this was a bounce back for us,” said Josiah Esau. “[The message was to] play as hard as we can and then execute on the game plan we had, and I think we did that.”
“All around I think we were focused on the game plan and tried to execute on every single play,” echoed assistant coach Stu Pow.
Amit Sayal had 10 kills on the night, while Blake Fenwick and Jonah Millard had 8 and 6 respectively. Jack Cochran and Josiah Esau each had a pair of aces in the win.
A kill from Jonah Millard started things off for the Mustangs, as Western got out to an early 4-3 lead. The visitors kept things close to start the set, before the purple and white found a five-point lead at 15-10.
The Mustangs built off of their strong start to secure a 25-18 first set win, with Amit Sayal registering 5 kills while Millard followed with 3.
“We had a specific game plan set in place based off the style of Trent’s play, and while we didn’t do it that well at the beginning, we began to adapt,” said Esau. “We adapted and took control of the game halfway through the first set.”
Some Excalibur errors helped the purple and white see a 4-1 lead to begin the second, but the visitors in green would fight back, winning four of the next five points to tie things up.
Rallying behind a Blake Fenwick serve, a slew of Trent errors alongside kills from Millard, Esau and Jason Guy helped restore the lead at 11-6, with five consecutive points.
A block by Nicolas Folz and a kill by Sayal saw Western double up on their opponents at 18-9, while a huge kill by Fenwick to finish off a long rally moments later sent echoing chants throughout Alumni Hall.
Jack Cochran registered two aces near the end of the set, while a Cade Smith ace finished it off at 25-12 as the ‘Stangs ran away with the second.
“In between the first and second set, we focused on the [serves and passes] we missed at the beginning of the game, so we put an emphasis on that first contact to do that better the next set and we did that,” said Esau. “I’m really proud of everyone.”
The Excalibur’s took a 5-2 lead to start the third set, as they looked to win their second set of the season. A kill from Sayal tied things up for the purple and white at six, while a block by Millard put them back in the lead.
With Esau serving, Western extended their lead even more, taking control. Kills from Sayal and two aces from Esau highlighted the six-point run for the ‘Stangs, with Ronaldo’s ‘Siu’ celebration making an appearance by Esau after his second ace.
“The World Cup is going on right now, so [I was inspired] by some big plays and hit them with the ‘Siu’,” said Esau on his celebration that was popular with both the bench and the crowd.
Another Sayal kill would see the ‘Stangs double up on their opponent at 16-8, before taking the set 25-12 to complete the straight sets victory.
“We were looking to gain some momentum,” said Pow on the win. “We certainly respect those guys, we respect anyone we play against. We were looking to control our side of the net, and really focus on having better execution.”
Western now improves to 3-3 on the season, while Trent drops to 0-7. The two team’s will face-off again on Sunday at Alumni Hall to conclude their weekend series.
“I think it’s the same mindset on Sunday,” said Esau. “We do exactly what we did tonight. Follow our game plan and play how we did today. If we do that, we’ll be alright.”
“We’ll try to lean on some of this momentum that we got today,” said Pow. “We are going to work hard again and look for opportunities to get some of our younger guys some more experience, and we’ll be expecting Trent to be ready for a battle. We’ll show up ready for that battle.”
The Mustangs are back in action on Sunday afternoon to close out the weekend series against Trent. The game will commence at 3pm and marks the last home game for the Mustangs in the calendar year. Tickets can be purchased at westernmustangs.ca