The Western Mustangs met with the Brock Badgers today in St. Catherines. Coming off of a win against Waterloo in a game that went into five sets last week, the Mustangs were looking to secure another win today. Despite a close fought match, the Brock Badgers took the game win 3-1.
Western get the first point on the scoreboard but a service error from Western puts Brock on the board. Kendall Homenick gets the second kill of the game for Western. Western push ahead in the points after a ball is sent long by Brock. Western maintain the point lead into the middle of the set. Jonah Millard gets a kill to put the Mustangs three points ahead of the Badgers with the score 15-12 to the Mustangs. The Badgers equalize, making the score 15-15 after winning three consecutive points. A service ace from the Badgers puts Brock ahead in the points. Blake Fenwick gets a kill to equalize again at 16. The teams trade points towards the second half of this opening set hinting at a close game to come in the following sets. Brock gets within five points of the first set win, but Cade Smith brings the Mustangs one point behind the Badgers. Amit Sayal gets a kill to equalize the points at 20. Blake Fenwick gets another kill, equalizing the score at 22. A serve that goes long for the Mustangs puts Brock within two points of the first set win. A service ace from Brock puts the Badgers within one point of the set win. Western call for a timeout to reset. Blake Fenwick finds a gap in the court to make the score 24-23 to Brock. A kill from Brock secures the first set for the Badgers with a score of 25-23.
The Brock Badgers take the opening point of the second set. The Badgers push ahead in the points after a block from Western goes out of bounds. Western close the point gap to one after Cade Smith gets a service ace making the score 5-4 to the Badgers. Kendall Homenick gets a block, making the score 8-7 to the Badgers. The teams equalize at 10 points and again at 13 but the Badgers push ahead to a two-point lead. Blake Fenwick stops Brock from getting away in the points as a kill from him makes the gap one point. Western calls for a timeout when the score hits 17-14 to Brock. Western win the first point coming out of the timeout after Cade Smith sends a ball into the Brock block which goes out of bounds. Brock gets within five points of the second set win after they tip the ball over the net which the falls in the middle of the court on the Mustangs’ side. A timeout is called. The Badgers win the opening point coming out of the timeout. Cade Smith puts another point on the board for Western after he gets a block to put the score at 21-17 to Brock. Brock gets a service ace putting the Badgers within two points of the second set win. A long serve from Brock and a kill from Josiah Esau which finds the far-right corner brings the Mustangs within four points of Brock. A double block from Josiah Esau and Jonah Millard closes the point gap to three. Brock takes set two with a score of 25-21.
Brock takes the opening point of the third set but Western respond quickly by putting a point on the board. Brock push ahead by three points. Kendall Homenick works to close that point gap to two. A ball is set by Josiah Esau and Blake Fenwick gets a kill to fire up the Western bench and closing that point gap to one. The Badgers push ahead but a net violation from Brock puts the score at 6-4 to Brock. Despite the Badgers maintaining a point lead, the Mustangs are not far behind. Brock tip the ball over the net to find an empty spot, putting the Badgers two ahead. The Mustangs equalise at 11 after a ball is sent out of bounds by the Badgers. Western push ahead in the points after a block from Amit Sayal. After Western push two points ahead, a timeout is called. Brock wins the first point coming out of the timeout and then equalise again at 14. Western get a four-point lead and come within four points of the set win. A huge block from Brock brings Brock within two points of the Mustangs. After a ball is sent out of bounds by Brock, the Mustangs come within two points of the set win. Kendall Homenick puts the Mustangs within one point of the set win with a kill. After a ball goes out of bounds off the Mustangs’ fingertips, the scoreboard sits at 24-23 to the Mustangs. Brock equalizes at 24, pushing the set to extra points. Western wins set three with a score of 26-24 after a tense final rally.
Cade Smith wins the first point for Western, but Brock quickly equalizes and pushes ahead by one. Blake Fenwick equalizes the points at 2. Brock gets a two-point advantage after a ball is sent long by Western. A ball tipped over the net by Brock puts the Badgers three points ahead of the Mustangs. The teams trade service errors and the teams equalize at 9 and again at 10 with both teams fighting for every point. A timeout is called after the Badgers push ahead in the points, making the score 14-11. Brock pushes four points ahead as the teams approach the middle of the set. Cade Smith gets another kill after Josiah Esau dives to save the ball and keep it in play. The Badgers push closer to the set win but the Mustangs keep fighting for points. The Brock Badgers go on to take the fourth set win 25-17.
The Mustangs will meet with the Brock Badgers again tomorrow at 8:00pm in St. Catherines. Tune into OUA.tv to support the Western Mustangs.