The Windsor Lancers women's volleyball took to the court on Sunday afternoon against their southern Ontario rivals, the Western Mustangs. The Mustangs are the Lancers' immediate superiors in the OUA standings, sitting eight points up from the third place Lancers. Windsor was looking to avenge a heartbreaking loss suffered in London the last two times these teams met; the Lancers fell short in the fifth set after being down 2-0.  The Lancers came out looking good, winning the first set but they ultimately fell in four (25-17, 23-25, 21-25, 19-25).
 
GAME STATS
The Lancers were led by Brooke Davis and her 28 assists, while the Mustangs Jessica Lam led all players in assists with 31.
 
Lancer libero Carleigh Bailey led the effort on defense, leading all players in digs with 20. The Mustangs were paced by Courtney Sestric who had 11 digs.
 
Lexi Pollard was the most offensive player on the court, posting 13 kills to lead all players. Aja Gyimah posted 10 kills to lead her Mustangs.
 
Game Flow
The Lancers used an efficient and timely mix of offensive and defensive plays to gain an advantage in the first set, using a team block to go on a 13-5 run to finish the set. Lexi Pollard led the way in scoring for the Lancers as she racked up four kills to help the Lancers take the first set, 25-17.
 
The second set was far closer than the second. The Lancers fell behind early and struggled to erase the deficit throughout the first half of the set. The Lancers however, to their credit, managed to stay in striking distance, and strike they did late in the set. With the Mustangs approaching set point, the Lancers fought back to tie the game at 19 and again at 23, unfortunately the late set heroics fell short and so did the Lancers, 25-23.
 
The third set was much like the second except it was close the whole way. The Lancers opened the set with some great defensive play when they executed a fantastic rally that ended in a Paige Phills kill that put the Lancers up 5-6 early. The Mustangs however, were also capable of making great plays and did so on three straight serves that led to points late in the set, putting the visiting Mustangs up 17-15. The Lancers made It close but ultimately fell in the third set, 25-21.
 
The Lancers got off to a rough start, sitting behind approaching the midway point of the set but went on a nice run to tie the set at 11. The Lancers then got some help from Paige Phills who's great stint at the service line helped the Lancers out to a 17-15 lead. Unfortunately, the Mustangs were able to prove exactly why they're ahead of the Lancers, taking the set and the match 25-19.
 
UP NEXT
Up next the Lancers are taking on the Waterloo Warriors on a Tuesday, February 20th at 6:00pm. Please note that this game was rescheduled from its original date on Wednesday February 21st.