The Mustangs men’s team kicked off their playoff push on Saturday when they hosted the Queens Gaels in OUA quarterfinal action. Western finished the season as the second seed in the OUA west with a 14-6 record. Queens was the fourth seed in the East with a 10-6 record and narrowly lost their only matchup with Western in a five-set thriller back in November.
The purple and white stumbled out of the gate forcing coach Sage to take a timeout at 7-12. The Queens would maintain control for the majority of the set, not making many mistakes, and ultimately took it 25-22.
The second set looked to be a carbon copy of the first with Queens gaining control early. But the Mustangs cleaned things up and stormed back to make it 10-8 forcing the Gaels to take a timeout. The teams would play neck and neck for the remainder of the set, but the Mustangs were able to squeak out a 25-22 win.
The third set was, again, a close affair. The two storied institutions were locked in a battle for the ages. But Queens would give themselves some breathing room towards the end of the set as they would take it 25-17.
The fourth set showed the exact same intensity as the first three. The teams traded points throughout the set and it was tight until the end. 26-24 the final score read—in favour of the Gaels, who upset the Western Mustangs at Alumni Hall to advance to the OUA final four.
