London, ON – The Mustangs Men’s Volleyball team topped the 3-time defending OUA Champion McMaster Marauders 3-1 on Friday night in the 2024 home opener.
The Mustangs took the first two sets and rounded out the win in front of a capacity crowd at Alumni Hall.
“This feels amazing, I can’t even describe it,” said Mustangs captain Jonah Millard on the win “Every year I have been at Western it’s been a battle with them, they’re always a tough team to beat, getting this win just feels so good,”
Cade Smith led the Mustangs with 15 kills on the night.
“This was so important for us to get this win tonight, if we lose we are 0&3 to start the year, this gives us a little bit of a breath. It was a really gutsy, come-from-behind win,” said Mustangs Head Coach Jim Sage “We really used the early bye weeks to focus on what we wanted to accomplish this year and the guys have really come together early on here,”
GAME RECAP
The first few points of the opening set went back and forth, but the Mustangs went on a 7-0 run to open up a 12-4 lead. Western would continue the early momentum swing moving into a 20-12 lead. After McMaster rebounded to bring the score to 22-19, Western would get the last three points of the set and finish out the 25-19 win.
M?? END OF 1ST SET The Mustangs have a powerful opening set performance and take this one 25-19.
The second set was much closer, with neither side opening more than a two-point advantage through the first twenty points of the set, and it was tied at 10-10. The Mustangs would take the next four points and a 14-10 lead. After the break, the set would remain tight, with Western opening up a 23-17 lead. McMaster would rebound with three straight points, and the Mustangs called a time-out. The Marauders kept the pressure going, winning three of the next four points to pull within a point at 24-23, forcing Western to call another timeout which worked as they picked up the final point of the set and won 25-23 and moved into a 2-0 match lead.
M?? END OF 2ND SET McMaster made a late push but the Mustangs take the second set 25-23.
The third set saw an early battle for points, bouncing back and forth, which continued for much of the frame. The biggest run of points for either side early on was a 5-0 run for McMaster that gained them an 18-12 lead and forced Western to call their first timeout. The Marauder followed that up with a 5-2 run and moved into a 20-14 advantage. The Marauders would finish the set with a 5-3 advantage and win 25-17, cutting the Western lead to 2-1 in the match.
The fourth set was another nail-biter early on, with McMaster holding slim leads, but Western paced themselves and kept it close, tying the set at 14-14 midway through. Western would follow that up with a 6-2 run and take a 19-16 advantage. The see-saw effect would continue as McMaster would draw even with Western at 20-20. McMaster took four of the next six points, pushing Western to the brink, but the Mustangs would respond with five of the final six points and secure a 27-25 set win and a 3-1 match victory.
“This was one of the best environments I have played in during my time here,” said Millard “Overwhelming support tonight, and if we messed up, the crowd was there for us, when we made a big play, we definitely fed off of it,”
NEXT GAME
The two teams will renew acquaintances on Saturday afternoon, with the first serve set to fly at 4:00 pm.