London, ON – The Mustangs remain undefeated after a 3-1 win over McMaster on Saturday afternoon.
The Mustangs got momentum early on in the afternoon and never let go, beating the Marauders for the second day in a row.
“Today was just an outstanding example of using our depth in a different way than we did last night. We saw different players come on and had amazing moments and that just builds more layers for us,” said Mustangs Head Coach Melissa Bartlett “It just builds confidence and trust throughout our roster for the rest of the season.”
Emma Buntic led the Mustangs with 14 kills on the night, adding four service aces in the win. The freshman now has 72 kills in her first 6 matches in the OUA.
“It feels really good, It’s always hard as a freshman to step onto the court and make an impact, usually we are targeted a bit by the opposition so it’s great to pull through and help out where I can,” said Buntic.
Before the start of the match, the Mustangs recognized the 1973-74 gold medal winning team on their 50th anniversary with a pre-game ceremony, including some members of the team.
“To share with and see the past athletes up on the stage, spanning from the 1950s, all the way up to girls who had played for me is really really special,” said Bartlett “It creates that element of family and I love that our group is so excited and eager to go up there and engage with our alumni and keep those connections going,”
GAME RECAP
After falling 3-2 on Friday night, McMaster came out with an early surge and scored six of the night’s first seven points, forcing Western to take an early timeout. The Marauders would continue their early offensive pressure, going on a 5-1 run and increasing their set lead to 11-2. The second half of the set was fairly tight with McMaster taking the edge at 14-12 the rest of the way but the early Marauders advantage was too much to overcome and Western dropped the first set 25-14.
The second set saw a much tighter score, with McMaster taking an early 3-1 lead, but Western battled their way back and the score was 7-7 shortly after. The scoring remained tight throughout, after Western called a timeout with the score knotted at 19-19, Western would get a powerful kill from Ava Ebert, which was followed up by a massive block by Kendra McEwan that gave Western a 21-19 lead. The Mustangs would ride the wave of momentum en route to a 25-22 set win and evened the match at 1-1.
W?? END OF 2ND SET
The Mustangs respond with a 25-22 win to take the second set and even the match up at one a piece.
The momentum of the second set win carried into the start of the third set as the Mustangs would open up a 7-2 lead, forcing McMaster to take an early timeout. Western would continue their strong play, opening up a 20-11 lead later in the set. The Mustangs would finish the set with a 7-1 run, finish with a Lael Harrison ace to win the set 25-12 and take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
W?? END OF 3RD SET
Lael Harrison finishes the 25-12 set win for the Mustangs with an ACES!!
McMaster wasn’t going down without a fight though, as they opened up the fourth set with a 4-0 run. Western put up a solid response, showing their offensive power and taking the lead at 9-7 before McMaster called a timeout. The rest of the set was all Mustangs as they finished off the 25-17 set win and the match at 3-1.
W?? FINAL
It was so nice that we did it twice: beating McMaster 25-17 in the fourth set and picking up a 3-1 win this afternoon.
The Mustangs are now 6&0 to start the 2024-25 season, picking up wins over the Marauders who were ranked #2 in the U SPORTS Top 10 this past week.
“I think we’ve earned a bit more attention with the way our season has started,” said Bartlett “Taking down a team with the talent of McMaster two nights in a row, it’s been five or six years since our team has beaten them back-to-back as they’re always a very strong team, I’m very excited with where our team is headed right now,”
NEXT GAME
The Mustangs are on the road next weekend for a pair of games in North Bay against the Nipissing Lakers. The first of two games starts on Friday at 6:00 pm, Fans can watch the action on OUA.tv.