The Lancer women's volleyball team lost a heart breaking 3-2 (20-25, 24-26, 26-24, 25-22, 13-15)  match against the Western Mustangs Friday night at Alumni Hall in London.
 
Windsor falls to 3-4 on the season, while the Mustangs improve to 3-2.
 
Rookie Paige Phills was the highest scoring Lancer of the evening, racking up 26 points throughout five sets of action.
 
The Mustangs claimed the first set by a score of 25-20 after leading the Lancers throughout the entirety of the game.
 
Windsor was able to close the gap towards the end of the set after a series of unforced Mustang errors slowly chipped away at the point difference.
 
The second set was more competitive and saw longer rallies after the Lancers seemingly revamped their defensive game. The improvements allowed Windsor to dictate the pace of the game through much of the set and forced the Mustangs to play on their heels.
 
Western took a timeout towards the end of the set, giving the Mustangs the focus they needed to finish strong and secure a 26-24 victory.
 
The third set kicked off with the Lancers jumping out to an early 4-0 lead.
 
The Mustangs would storm back and tie the set more than once, only to be pushed back into a deficit as they struggled to combat a thriving Lancer corps.
 
Rookie standout Phills was instrumental in Windsor's success throughout the set, as she racked up eight kills on her own while also proving to be a valuable asset in the backcourt. The Windsor native led a final offensive push for the Lancers to take the set 26-24 and force a fourth.
 
The Mustangs and Lancers traded points to begin the fourth set, with neither team managing to gain momentum over the other.
 
Both teams had tightened up defensively compared to the previous set, allowing for fewer errors and more continuous play. The Lancers were the first to break out of the point-for-point pattern, racking up a three-point lead before a purple and white timeout interrupted the momentum.
 
In an attempt to adjust to Western's new defensive coverage, the Lancers offence switched gears. The team began favouring precise attacks that saw them expertly place the ball just out of reach of the Mustangs, making Western scramble and struggle to get clean passes to the setter.
 
Despite a hot streak late in the set that saw the Mustangs come within one of the Lancers, Windsor took the fourth set 25-22, to send the match into a fifth deciding set.
 
Western came out with a vengeance to start the final set, jumping out to an early lead before a Lancers timeout interrupted the budding purple and white momentum.
 
The two teams almost immediately fell back into the familiar pattern of trading points, before the Lancers eventually took a 9-6 lead midway through the set.
 
Western called a timeout as the set was edging towards completion, and returned to the floor more disciplined and focused then they had been all match. The defensive game was tightened up, and as a result the offence began to thrive as the Mustangs took the fifth and final set 15-13.
 
UP NEXT
Windsor hosts the RMC Paladins, Friday November 24th and the Queen's Gaels, Saturday November 25th. Both games are at 6:00pm and can be seen live at www.oua.tv.