The Western Mustangs Win 3-1 Against The Waterloo Warriors

The Western Mustangs took on the Waterloo Warriors today in Alumni Hall at 6:00pm. The Mustangs took the first set with Waterloo taking the second. The Mustangs went on to take the third and fourth sets to secure the win. 
 
Western took the first point of the opening set with Claire Stewart sending a kill over the net. Waterloo equalized but a ball finds the far-left hand corner of the court to push ahead in the points. Both teams trade points early in this first set. The Mustangs are able to push ahead in the points after some errors by the Warriors and some miscommunication between the team. A few points later, Lael Harrison sends the ball over the net into a double block where it goes off their hands and out of bounds. This puts the Mustangs seven points ahead in the score, causing the Warriors to call for a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Waterloo wins the first point as a ball goes off the hands of a Mustang and out of bounds. Western wins the next point as Hannah Joo sends the ball to the far end of the court where Waterloo dives to try save it but is not able to. The Mustangs maintain their point lead despite the Warriors putting pressure on the Mustangs. After Ava Ebert finds an empty space in the court, she is able to tip the ball over the net to get a point for the Mustangs. A service ace from Kaitlyn Doyle puts the Mustangs within seven points of the set win. Lael Harrison gets another kill and puts another point on the board for the Mustangs. A kill from Claire Stewart puts the Mustangs within five of the first set win. After a long serve from Waterloo, putting the Mustangs within four of the set win, a timeout is called. The Mustangs take the first set win 15-25 after a kill finds the far left-hand side of the court for the Mustangs. 
 
The Warriors win the first point of the second set after a ball is sent out of bounds off the hands of a Mustang. Despite the Mustangs equalizing, the Warriors push ahead in the points. A block from 9 from Waterloo pushes the Warriors further ahead in the points. After Waterloo works to keep the ball alive, it is sent over the net and out of bounds. A block from Waterloo goes out of bounds putting the Mustangs within four points of the Warriors. Despite the Mustangs putting the pressure on Waterloo, they push ahead to a 10-4 score, causing Western to call for a timeout. The Warriors win the first three consecutive points coming out of the timeout. Waterloo finds an empty spot in the middle of the court to put the team at a 13-4 score. Lael Harrison stops them from getting a fourth consecutive point coming out of the timeout as a kill finds the far end of the court and going out of bounds off the hands of a Warrior. Western get some energy back and put the pressure on Waterloo coming within five points and causing the Warriors to call for a timeout. Despite the Warriors taking the first point out of the timeout, Western gets a double block of Claire Stewart and Lael Harrison, bringing them within five again of the Warriors. They then win the next point, coming within four. Claire Stewart gets a massive kill after Hannah Joo sets the ball for her making Alumni Hall go electric. The Mustangs work to maintain a short distance behind the Warriors, not letting them pull away in the points. A long serve from the Warriors puts the Mustangs within three points of them. The teams trade service errors after a long serve from Western puts Waterloo within one point of the set win. Waterloo wins the second set 25-19 after a ball goes out of bounds off a Mustang. 
 
Western go on to win the first point of the third set after a ball goes out of bounds off the Warriors. Western maintains good energy early in this set pushing ahead by three points after a ball is sent out of bounds by Waterloo. Despite Waterloo working to catch up in the points, a kill from Ava Ebert maintains the points lead for Western. The Mustangs win the next two points, causing a timeout to be called. The Warriors maintain a short distance behind in the points, equalizing at 14-14. A short serve puts the Mustangs ahead again in the points. Ava Ebert finds the center of the court, getting the ball through the block to put the Mustangs within two points of the set win. The Warriors equalized again at 16 and go on to push ahead by two points causing the Mustangs to call for a timeout. The Mustangs win the first point coming out of the timeout to put them within one point of the Warriors. The Warriors get within three points of the set win causing the Mustangs to call for a timeout. The Mustangs win the first point coming out of the timeout again. A ball sent out of bounds by the Warriors brings the Mustangs within two points of Waterloo to maintain the pressure on them. Despite the Warriors being within two points of the set win, the Mustangs work to get within one point of them after a double block by Claire Stewart and Lael Harrison makes its way past the Waterloo defense, causing Waterloo to call for a timeout. The Mustangs equalize at 23 points and push ahead after miscommunication from the Warriors. A block from Jade Longlad gets the Mustangs the third set 23-25. 
 
Emily Tsiandoulas gets a service ace to start the fourth set for the Mustangs. The Western Mustangs maintain the point lead early in this fourth set. A kill from Claire Stewart puts the score at 2-4 to the Mustangs. However, a short serve from the Mustangs and a kill from Waterloo equalizes the points at 4. The teams trade points and equalize again at 7. After a hard-fought point that saw Lael Harrison run into the commentators’ table to keep the ball alive, the Mustangs win the point showing the Warriors that they are prepared to fight for every point. After the Warriors push three ahead in the points, the Mustangs call for a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Warriors win the first point, but Lael Harrison sends a kill into the center of the court to keep the Mustangs in the set conversation. After the Warriors push ahead by seven points, a timeout is called. Coming out of the timeout, the Mustangs win three consecutive points forcing the Warriors to call for a timeout. This puts the score at 17-13 to the Warriors. Emily Tsiandoulas gets the first point after the timeout, finding an empty spot in the center of the court to bring the energy of Alumni Hall up. Lael Harrison serves with a one-point difference between the Mustangs and the Warriors. A block from Tsiandoulas equalizes the score at 17-17. Another timeout is called. The Mustangs don’t lose any energy after the timeout as a double block from Claire Stewart and Emily Tsiandoulas puts them ahead in the points by one. A short serve from the Warriors puts the Mustangs within one point of the set win. The Mustangs continue to push towards the set win. A long serve from the Mustangs brings the Warriors within two points of the Mustangs. A long serve from the Warriors puts the Mustangs within two points of the set win. A ball goes out of bounds off the Warriors’ hands and out of bounds to bring the Mustangs within one point of the set win. A kill from Ava Ebert after a free ball gets the set win 20-25. 
 
When speaking to Head Coach Melissa Bartlett after the game, she explained that “people who know our team will realize that it was a very different team out there. We’ve had a couple injuries and a couple illnesses that we are dealing with. So, first I want to say that in terms of execution of game plan with some different personnel on the court, I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of a team because we’ve bought into a vision and really executed it tonight. So, that is really, really fulfilling. We’ve had to step up our serving game and we really worked that in practice this week and I think that showed through as well.” When asked about the conversation after the third set to maintain the energy into the fourth set, Coach Bartlett noted that “it is honestly about momentum and understanding the power of momentum in our sport and talking about how the players both on the court and off the court can contribute to that feeling of momentum because it’s like a force that you have to harness and push forward and it was cool to see that. I mean we were down 17-10 in set four and then won nine points in a row. That’s momentum. That’s the cool thing about volleyball.” Looking ahead to tomorrow, Coach Bartlett explained that “that’s a good team. They were coming in on an eight-game winning streak. So, I think, and they’ve got a lot of depth. So, I would expect that we might see some different athletes from them and definitely we can look at a couple things that we can do and sharpen up a little bit better but it’s important we rest tonight because it’s a quick turnaround for 2:00pm.”
 
The Western Mustangs will meet with the Waterloo Warriors again tomorrow at 2:00pm in Alumni Hall.