The first Saturday of March brought the first playoff matchup for the Mustangs’ Women’s volleyball team as they hosted the Queen’s Gaels in OUA quarterfinal action. Western finished the regular season as the second seed in the OUA West division while Queens finished third in the East, also with a 13-6 record. The Mustangs won their only regular season matchup back in November 3-0, but the teams had very similar seasons, and the rival schools were set to put another showdown in the record books.
The Queens seemed to have the edge early on as they jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the opening set. The Mustangs soon turned that around after calling a timeout and seized a 18-14 lead. They would let the Gaels back into it giving up five straight points, but the Mustangs weathered the storm and rattled off a few quick points of their own going up 22-10, forcing the visitors to their second timeout.
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The second set was a seesaw battle to say the least. The teams went back and forth trading points never going up more than 3 points at any time. The intensity was palpable in Alumni Hall as neither team looked like they wanted to, nor deserved to lose it. It would be Western who would take it though after a lengthy rally at 25-24 which they would end up winning. It would come at a cost though as middle hitter Danielle Grasman left the game with an apparent ankle injury.
The Gaels refused to down without a fight though, as they seized control of the third set early. They would maintain that control en route to a 25-16 set victory.
After a set where the Mustangs seemed out of sorts, they flipped the script on the Gaels and absolutely dominated the fourth set. They stomped on the throats of the Gaels, defeating them 25-17 in the final set, to send them back to the OUA final four.
Once again, the Gaels visited Alumni Hall for a playoff game, and once again, their season ends in the Forest City. The Mustangs will await their final four opponent, but the team is riding an emotional high that they won’t soon come down from, so they will be prepared regardless of who their matchup is.
