London, ON – The Mustangs took home a gutsy five-set victory against the Varsity Blues on Saturday night at Alumni Hall to kick off their weekend series.
Coming off of a tough weekend against Brock, the Mustangs rebounded in spectacular fashion against the second-place Varsity Blues. After dropping the first set 29-27, Western then took the second 25-22. Toronto won the third 25-15, while the ‘Stangs then forced a fifth set with a 25-17 fourth-set win. The Mustangs claimed the win with a 16-14 fifth-set. Jason Guy had 19 kills and 1 ace in the win, while Blake Fenwick had 14 kills and 2 aces.
“I would’ve been proud of them win or lose,” said head coach Jim Sage on the win. “It was a great epic game, fun to watch, and neat to see the crowd engage. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it like that, ever. Both sides were going nuts, they were awesome. And it helps so much with the energy and the push from my guys. We got mojo on our own court and I love that.”
“I came out a little more relaxed, we were all more relaxed,” added Jason Guy. “There wasn’t as much pressure on us this week as last week, so playing free and playing for each other really helped us pull out the long win today.”
The opening set marked the tone for the rest of the match.
Josiah Esau kicked things off for the Mustangs off the first serve, but it was Toronto who found a decent lead early on at 6-2.
M??l START OF 1ST SET
First-serve is underway at Alumni Hall as the Mustangs host the Varsity Blues!
A big block from Blake Fenwick followed by an ace elicited large screams from the crowd, who showed up with electrifying energy felt throughout the gym and on the court.
“The crowd was awesome from the first set to the last set,” said Guy. “We really feed off of the crowd so having them be as loud as possible cheering us on and chirping the opponent helps us get into the zone.”
Amit Sayal tied things up at 13 for the ‘Stangs moments later, before two kills from Jason Guy gave them the lead.
With Western down 22-20, kills from Kendall Homenick and Guy made things even yet again against the backdrop of a spirited atmosphere looking to lift their team to the win.
The set concluded in spectacular and gritty fashion as the purple and white saved four set points before finally dropping the set 29-27 to Toronto.
M??l END OF 1ST SET
The Varsity Blues take a hard-fought opening set 29-27 over the Mustangs. Jason Guy leads Western with 5 kills.
Looking to continue their first set momentum rather than letting the loss get to them, Western came out with similar intensity and determination to start the second, taking a 4-2 lead. A kill from Fenwick moments later would see the Mustangs double up on Toronto again at 6-3 before they tied it at 8.
Kills from Millard and Guy put the Mustangs back in front at 12-9, as they held onto their lead while Toronto called timeout at 19-15. A block from Millard and Esau that sent the gym echoing with cheers right after the timeout was enough for the Varsity Blues to call another.
The visitors then went on a four-point run before Western eventually claimed the set 25-22 off of a service error.
M??l END OF 2ND SET
The Mustangs claim the second set 25-22 over Toronto to tie this one up! Jason Guy leads Western with 12 kills.
The third looked a bit different from the start for the Mustangs as they found themselves down by nine at 14-5. A big kill off the bench from Josh Thorson looked to re-energize the team, however they dropped the third 25-15.
While it was the purple and white who found a 3-0 lead to start the fourth, the visitors in navy went on a run to take the lead at 6-5 before things sat tied at 8. A block from Millard put Western up 9-8, while two from Guy extended the lead even more.
An ace from Fenwick alongside a block from Homenick and Esau put the purple and white in the driver’s seat. A Fenwick kill gave set-point to Western, as they then claimed the set 25-17 off a Toronto error.
M??l END OF 4TH SET
This one is going to a fifth set! The Mustangs take the fourth set 25-17 over Toronto.
Things remained close to start the deciding set as Fenwick and Guy traded kills. A block from Fenwick and Millard saw Western double up on Toronto at 6-3 as they then called a timeout.
Toronto took the lead at 8-7, but Millard and Homenick reclaimed it for the ‘Stangs moments later.
“The fifth set went all over the place and they stayed with it,” said Sage. “I’m really proud of them.”
With things sitting tied at 13, it was Western who would have match-point, although the Varsity Blues weren’t willing to let the match go that easily.
“We remind each other to stay mentally in it,” said Guy on his team’s determination. “We have a thing where if we check out, we tell ourselves to check back in because it’s not over. That really helps us, especially in those long sets when it’s going back and forth. We just have to know we play this all the time and to mentally stay focused.”
Fenwick handed match-point back to the Mustangs again at 15-14 which they finally finished off for a 16-14 fifth-set victory as the team and crowd broke out into celebrations fit for a championship.
M??l FINAL SCORE
The Mustangs take the fifth set 16-14 to secure the win over Toronto! Jason Guy had 19 kills on the night.
The Mustangs and Varsity Blues will play again tomorrow at 4pm at Alumni Hall.
“It feels great,” said Guy on the win. “It’s the best win since I’ve been playing here at Western, so it feels great.”
“They were more consistent [tonight], but not perfect,” added Sage. “Guys would struggle and then couldn’t find it. Jason [Guy] struggled a little bit and then came back and played well. You could see the bear come out and some emotion. I said to be dirty [to others]. It wasn’t big kills, but it was [little things] to score. And so I was proud of that.”
With the win, Western improves to 8-6 on the season while Toronto drops to 10-4. The Mustangs will look to replicate tonight’s success tomorrow afternoon as both teams face a quick turnaround for a 4pm Sunday matchup.
“We know it’s going to be a hard-fought, nasty, suspenseful, tough to deal with [game]. So bring it,” said Sage on Sunday’s game. “The [team] has to take a step back and then be ready to go again. But we know it’s going to be tough.”
The Mustangs and Varsity Blues will face off again tomorrow afternoon at Alumni Hall with first-serve set for 4pm. Tickets can be purchased at westernmustangs.ca with the action also being available to watch on OUA.tv
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