LONDON, Ont. – Down after the first set, the Mustangs rallied to finally break free of the losing streak that had began to haunt the purple and white as Western pulled out a four set victory (24-26, 25-15, 25-18, 25-19) over the Windsor Lancers on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Hall.  
 
The win puts Western's record at 6-6, leaving them tied with York for fifth place in the OUA, while Windsor sits at 3-9 and in 10th place.
 
"It felt really good," said outside hitter Bryn Ramsay about the win. "We've been on a bit of a losing streak lately, a few of our players are in a bit of a funk, and we haven't won in a while – at home at least. Today was sort of the monkey off our back."
 
"We approached it like it was do-or-die," said Western head coach Jim Sage, "and played it like our lives depended on it."
 
Leading the Mustangs to victory in the front court was Ramsay who's 13 kills, service ace, and five assisted blocks culminated in 16.5 points. Close behind was Evan Hammond with 15.5 points, and Zeid Hamadeh with 14.5, while libero Seth Siegfried picked up nine digs throughout the match.
 
Windsor's leading scorer was Brad Gyemi with 17.5 points, while Josh Edwards followed up with 14 points.
 
Trading points from the first serve, Western and Windsor were locked together at nine-all with neither team able to establish more than a two-point lead at any time.
 
On the Mustang end the offence was evenly split, with Gavin Taylor, Doug Austrom, and Hammond all able to find the floor, while Hammond, Mike Choja and Ramsay all threw up effective blocks.
 
The Lancers capitalized on fifth year Shawn Reaume's hands at the net to cut off the purple and white attack. When he was unable to stop the ball from crossing the net, Windsor's scrambled defence – led by Blasé Wasser – was able to continue the play. 
 
While the Mustangs rounded the twenty-point mark with a small lead at 20-19, it only took minutes for the Lancers to push back ahead and take the set 24-26.
 
"I thought we should have won the first set," said Sage. "I was worried my guys would react really negatively. But we talked about it, knew Windsor wouldn't give up, and I thought that our composure after losing the first set was pretty good."
 
Back on the floor for the second set with a revamped starting line, the Mustangs raced ahead with Choja and Ramsay leading the attack at the net. An increase in unforced errors that sent both attacks and serves out of bounds also prevented the Lancers from staying as tight to Western's score as they had in the previous set.
 
Down by six points as the Mustangs hit twenty, Windsor struggled to compete against the more energetic purple and white corps. Ramsay's back row attacks threw the Lancer lineup into disarray while he and Evan Cranshaw also led in digs throughout the set.
 
Holding the Lancers back at more than an arm's length, the Mustangs picked up the second set at 25-15.
 
Windsor stepped back on the floor for the third set with seemingly renewed motivation, sticking closer to the Mustangs score and performing at a level similar to that seen in the first set.
 
However, the Mustangs also picked it up for the third. Supporting the swings that had been strong all throughout the game, setter Matt Hooker continued to carefully select his targets. The front line also saw an increase in successful blocks, shutting down consecutive attempts from Windsor with a triple, and double block respectively.
 
The Lancers fought to close the point difference by targeting their attacks near the baseline and sideline, relying on the Mustangs to give up points. Western was a less-willing partner that Windsor had hoped for, as they prevented a large scale comeback and closed out the third set 25-18.
 
Heading into the fourth set with the prospect of winning their first game in weeks, the Mustangs were nearly flawless in their execution of every part of the game. Rapidly picking up a 7-1 lead, Western was playing with an enthusiasm previously unseen.
 
Windsor, however, wasn't about to led the Mustangs run away with the match without earning every single point. The Lancers focused on cutting off Western's strongest attackers with blocks from John Moate and Josh Edwards while tightening up their own hitters to prevent wasted attacks.
 
Undeterred, the Mustangs continued to hold off Windsor, ultimately taking the fourth set at 25-19 – and with it, the match.
 
"We played good defence," said Ramsay. "We were able to capitalize on our transition balls. Team spirit was high, and we just really scrapped it out."
 
For coach Sage, the early points of the fourth set "could have been out best volleyball of the year.
 
"We were dominating. And then they started to slip back into it, but we maintained that four or five-point lead and I was pretty proud of the guys to be able to do that and not succumb to the pressure."
 
The Mustangs now have a bye-week to rest up before they have another weekend of home-court matchups against Guelph and the CIS number one McMaster Marauders at the end of January.