Box Score The Warriors men's volleyball team lost a nail-biting thriller to the Western Mustangs on Friday night, defeating the black and gold 3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 25-23, 36-38, 15-17) in five close sets.
With the loss, Waterloo currently stands at 2-2 while the Mustangs continue their undefeated season with a 4-0 record.
After opening up the set with consecutive unforced errors, the Mustangs struggled to combat the strong attacks and towering blocks coming from Waterloo and quickly fell behind. Forced into a time-out at 11-15, the Mustangs attempted to adjust offensive play to avoid the Waterloo blocks.
Returning from a second time out, the Mustangs fired out two powerful hits to force the Warriors into their first time out of the night. However, after a Mustang serving error, the Warriors took the set 25-19.
Despite kicking off the second set with an early lead, the Warriors struggled to keep the Mustangs at bay as Western soon caught up and tied the game 8-8. Trading points, both teams struggled to distance themselves from the other as they again tied at 12-12, 14-14 19-19, and 21-21. The Mustangs eventually won the set 25-22 with an unforced Warrior error to tie the match at one game a piece.
Starting off the third set with another early lead, the Warriors continued to trip up the Mustangs with strong blocks and powerful attacks. Unwilling to give up the third set, the Mustangs fought back with aggressive defensive play to tie up the score at 12-12.
The Mustang's Justin Scapinello served consistently to extend the team's lead to 17-13 with five unanswered points. Refusing to let the set go without a fight, Waterloo pushed through the set blocks and hit strategically to tie up the set at 20-20 and force a Western time-out. Waterloo took the set after two consecutive errors by the Mustangs, ending the set 25-23 in favour of Waterloo.
The fourth set began with Western and Waterloo continuously trading points, until the Warriors began to pull away after cutting off attacks with seemingly impenetrable blocks.
The Mustangs caught up to Waterloo to remain competitive in the set with blocks from Scapinello and Chris Newcombe pushing the Mustangs into the lead at 16-14.
Refusing to allow the Mustangs a win, Waterloo soon tied up the score at 19-19, and again at 24-24. The two teams would continue to trade points, however after regaining the serve after an unforced error by Waterloo, consecutive attacks from Newcombe won the set for the Mustangs 38-36.
The marathon continued with a fifth set that saw both teams refusing to leave the floor without a win. Both teams attempted to exploit known weak spots of the opposition and try to gain an advantage. Struggling to overcome the blocking power of Waterloo, Western fell behind 8-5 midway through the set.
Keeping the score close at 14-14, the Mustangs were unwilling to give up the win.
Taking the lead at 16-15, Newcombe ended the game from the Mustangs with a block to bring the score to 17-15 in favour of Western.
The black and gold gain a number of clutch plays from
Zachary Doherty (Goderich) who recorded 27 points for the Warriors on the evening (24 kills, 9 digs and 4 assisted blocks).
Aaron Wiersma (St. Catharines) and
Jordan McConkey (Stratford) combined for 23 kills and 7 assisted blocks while
Nikola Dimitrijevic (Mississauga) had 49 assists and 2 digs in the defeat.
For the Mustangs, Justin Scapinello continues to be the point leader for the Mustangs, recording 27 points from 23 kills, one solo block and three service aces. Meanwhile, third year Chris Newcombe recorded 20.5 points in the victory.
The Waterloo Warriors will be taking on rival Windsor Lancers on the road on Saturday evening at 8pm.
