Western Mustangs Win 3-2 Against McMaster in a Closely Fought Game

The Western Mustangs met with the McMaster Marauders in Hamilton today. The Mustangs come into the game against the McMaster Marauders having won seven games in a row, looking to extend that to eight.  
 
McMaster get on the board early in the game but a long serve from the Marauders equalises the score for the Mustangs. McMaster pushes ahead but a kill from Amit Sayal equalises the score at 2-2. An attacking error from the Marauders sees the Mustangs ahead in the points but McMaster follow this up by finding empty spots in the court to place the ball. Maxime Gratton from the Marauders gets a kill to put the score at 7-6. Kendall Homenick gets a kill, finding an empty spot in the middle of the court. Blake Fenwick equalises the score at 11-11 with a kill. A few points later, despite digs from Owen Kelly to keep the ball alive, McMaster wins a point to put them two ahead of the Mustangs. A kill from Blake Fenwick hits the triple block of the Marauders, going out of bounds off their fingertips, putting the Mustangs only within one point of McMaster. A service error from McMaster after a timeout brings the Mustangs within four points of the Marauders. Blake Fenwick keeps the energy on the Mustangs’ side high after a kill that finds the far-left hand side of the court. A kill from Brendan Mills from McMaster brings the team within one point of the set win. A ball goes out of bounds off the Mustangs’ hands making the final score of the first set 25-18 to McMaster. 
 
A kill from Jonah Millard finds the middle of the court to put the Mustangs on the board first in the second set. The Mustangs push ahead to win the first three points of the second set, coming into this set with lots of energy. Maxime Gratton gets the Marauders on the board. A free ball is sent over to the Mustangs and after a ball set by Josiah Esau, Jonah Millard puts the Mustangs four points ahead with the score 1-5 to the Mustangs. Brendan Mills for the Marauders brings the team within three points of the Mustangs but a service error for McMaster makes that lead back to four. A serve from Cade Smith sends the ball over the net. Robbie Fujisawa attempts to send the ball back to the Mustangs but a huge block from Amit Sayal maintains the Mustangs point lead. An attacking error from McMaster puts the Mustangs five points ahead. A triple block from Blake Fenwick, Jonah Millard and Josiah Esau keeps that point lead, prompting a McMaster time out with the score at 7-13. A service ace from Maxime Gratton puts the Marauders within four points of the Mustangs. Blake Fenwick gets his seventh kill of the game putting the Mustangs at 16 points to McMaster’s 11. An attacking error from the Marauders puts the score at 12-17. Kendall Homenick gets his second kill of the night putting the Mustangs at 18 points to McMaster’s 12. McMaster serves and the ball is received by Owen Kelly who sends it over to Amit Sayal who then sets it up for Cade Smith who finds the middle of the court, getting another point on the board for the Mustangs. McMaster, despite being behind in the points maintain the pressure on the Mustangs. After a huge dig from Owen Kelly, a block from Amit Sayal puts the Mustangs within five points of the set win. A further kill from Sayal then puts the team within one point of the set win. A kill from Blake Fenwick wins the Mustangs the second set with a final score of 18-25. 
 
McMaster win the first point in the third set, but the Mustangs maintain the pressure on the Marauders by pushing ahead in the points. A kill from Jonah Millard equalises the points at 3-3. Jack Mackley from the Marauders finds an empty spot on the court to put the ball, putting the Marauders ahead by one point. The teams trade serving errors and points. McMaster pushes ahead in the points after a kill finds the left-hand side of the court. Blake Fenwick gets his 11^th kill of the match making the score 10-10. The Mustangs take the point lead after an attacking error from the Marauders. Cade Smith runs into the grandstands to ensure the ball remains in play and the Mustangs win the point when Amit Sayal finds an empty spot in the court making the score 13-15 to the Mustangs. A few points later, a block from McMaster equalises the points at 17-17. However, Jonah Millard gets a kill to put the Mustangs back in the point lead. Blake Fenwick puts the Mustangs within three points of the set win. The Marauders maintain a close distance behind in the points but a service error from McMaster puts the Mustangs within two points of the set win. A block from Amit Sayal gets the Mustangs within one point of the set win. Western win the third set 22-25. 
 
McMaster win the first point of the fourth set. The Mustangs equalise soon after. The Marauders are able to push ahead by four points to a score of 6-2. Jack Mackley from McMaster finds the far right hand corner of the court to add to the Marauders’ score. A double block from Jonah Millard and Amit Sayal works to close the point gap in this fourth set. A kill from Maxime Gratton puts the Marauders five points ahead. As the Marauders push that point difference to seven, the Mustangs call for a time out. As the Marauders get within five points of the set win, the Mustangs maintain the pressure on McMaster, working to close the point gap to six. A ball goes off the McMaster block and out of bounds to put the score at 22-16. A ball is sent out of bounds by the Mustangs and puts McMaster within one point of the set win. A block from the Marauders sees the final score of the set at 25-17 to McMaster. 
 
Coming into this final fifth set, both teams have two set wins. The Mustangs get on the board first and a kill from Blake Fenwick adds another point to the board to give the Mustangs a two-point lead. McMaster equalise the points at 2-2. The Mustangs maintain high energy in the fourth set as a kill from Kendall Homenick finds the middle of the court to put the Mustangs two ahead. A service ace from Blake Fenwick, his third of the game, adds another point to the Mustangs’ score and leads to a McMaster timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Marauders work to close the point gap. A kill from Blake Fenwick finds its way through the McMaster block to maintain the point lead. The teams tie scores at 11. The teams trade points. It is Blake Fenwick who puts the team within two points of the set win with a score of 12-13. A service ace from Fenwick sets up match point for Western. McMaster call for a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, it is Fenwick again who serves and gets a service ace to secure the win for Western with a final set score of 12-15. 
 
The two teams will meet again tomorrow at 8:00pm in Hamilton.