The Western Mustangs took on the Nipissing Lakers in a closely fought game which resulted in both teams taking two sets with the game being decided in the fifth and final set which the Mustangs were able to win.
The Lakers put the pressure on the Mustangs from the start of the game by getting a few points ahead of the Mustangs early on. Jason Guy got two kills which brought the Mustangs within one point of the Lakers. A kill from Amit Sayal bounced off the hands of a Lakers player and out of bounds which equalised the score at 4-4. The Lakers found an empty spot in the court pushing ahead to 6-4 but a long serve brought the Mustangs within one. A service ace from Jason Guy then equalised the score at 6-6. Blake Fenwick was able to get a few kills that maintained the pressure on the Lakers. Both teams traded points late in the first set. After a serve from the Lakers, the ball is set by Josiah Esau and killed by Jonah Millard which put the score at 19-19. The Lakers pushed ahead by one point but a kill from Jason Guy equalised the points at 20-20. When the Lakers got within two points of the set win, the Mustangs called for a time out. They came back strong after the timeout with Amit Sayal getting the Mustangs within one point of the set win but a double block from the Mustangs that went out of bounds made the final score 27-25 to the Lakers.
A kill from Blake Fenwick put the Mustangs on the board early in the second set. A few points later, after a long rally the Lakers increase their point lead by one but a kill from Kendall Homenick equalises at 4-4. The Mustangs pushed ahead in the points and a kill from Blake Fenwick increased the lead by three points. The Mustangs find their stride in this set, maintaining the point lead. After a block from Josiah Esau and Kendall Homenick put the score at 9-12 to the Mustangs which caused a timeout called by the Lakers. After the timeout, the Lakers maintained the pressure on the Mustangs but remained behind in points. a double block from Jonah Millard and Blake Fenwick puts the score at 14-19 to the Mustangs which caused another timeout from Nipissing. The teams went on to trade points due to long serves. Fenwick then sent a ball over the net which went off the fingertips of a Nipissing player and out of bounds which put the Mustangs within three points of the set win. A further kill from Fenwick a few points later put the team within one point of the win. A kill from Kendall Homenick went off the fingertips of a Lakers player and out of bounds which gave the Mustangs the second set with a final set score of 25-16.
Despite Nipissing getting the first point in the third set, the Mustangs quickly equalised. The teams went on to trade points. A timeout was called after the score got to 11-6 to the Lakers. A triple block from Josiah Esau, Blake Fenwick, and Kendall Homenick put the Mustangs within four points of the Lakers with a score of 17-13 on the board. After a timeout called by Nipissing, a block from Josiah Esau and Kendall Homenick brought the Mustangs to within two points of the Lakers. A long serve and a ball that went out of bounds from the Lakers gave points to the Mustangs late in the third set. Kendall Homenick and Cade Smith equalised the score which caused a timeout from the Lakers. After the timeout, the Lakers push ahead and when they got within two of the set win, the Mustangs called a timeout. Amit Sayal found an empty spot in the left-hand side of the court to maintain the pressure on the Lakers but Nipissing were able to maintain the energy they brought into the third set to take the set win 25-22.
Going into the fourth set, the Mustangs took the first point but the Lakers quickly equalised. A serve into the net from the Lakers would then give the point lead to the Mustangs. A kill from Jonah Millard after a timeout called by Western brought energy back to the team. A block from Millard decreased the point gap between the teams to two with the score on the board 12-10 to the Lakers. A ball sent out of bounds by the Lakers a few points later made the score 19-18 to the Lakers with the Mustangs looking to close that gap. When the Lakers pushed ahead to get within three points of the set win, the Mustangs called for a timeout. A serve from the Lakers was received by Owen Kelly, set by Josiah Esau and killed by Kendall Homenick who got the Mustangs within one point of the Lakers. The Lakers continued to push ahead getting within two points of the set win but a block from Cade Smith and Jonah Millard equalised the score at 24-24. After the timeout called, the Mustangs push ahead to take the fourth set 25-27.
Due to both teams winning two sets each, the game was pushed into a fifth and final set. The Mustangs got on the board early with a kill from Jonah Millard. The Mustangs were able to get the points lead early in the fifth set. The Lakers worked to catch up in the points but Amit Sayal was able to find spaces in the Lakers’ court to put the ball where it was unable to be returned by the Lakers. The teams switched sides with a score of 6-8 to the Mustangs on the board. A net violation and a ball sent out of bounds by the Lakers gave the Mustangs the points a few moments later. A timeout was called, and the Lakers got the first point coming out of that, but Blake Fenwick was able to get a kill, keeping the energy in Alumni Hall high. Nipissing were able to decrease the point difference to three but a long serve from the Lakers gave the point right back to the Mustangs. Josiah Esau then put the Mustangs within one point of the set win with a kill. A double block from Amit Sayal and Kendall Homenick
got the Mustangs the final set win.
After the game, we spoke to head Coach Jim Sage who explained that “there is a rivalry there for sure and we played them earlier in the year in exhibition and they beat us quite handily. So, it’s fun to play them. We knew that was the kind of match we were going to face and so I think that helped them a little bit. We don’t want to play with that much stress, but I think it helped that we presented that that could be the scenario that we see.” After that fourth set, coming into the fifth set Sage noted that “my assistants do really good work. They calm them down in an area where you want them to have a lot of energy on the court but in the timeout, we actually talk about calmness and straightforward thinking, so that we are not going outside of the box of what we normally do. Especially in that fifth set and I think that helps because then they are calm. They’re not too riled up and if it doesn’t go your way then the crash is even more so I think we played on a really even keel there.” Looking ahead to today where the team will meet Nipissing again at 6pm, Sage went on to say that it’s a “dogfight, battle, revenge – how are we going to meet their will to try to win tomorrow. We really needed a win tonight. I’m excited about tomorrow but I’m a little bit – not scared – but I know they’re coming.”
The team meet with the Nipissing Lakers again today at 6pm in Alumni Hall.