Lancers Slow Down Mustangs to Lock Up First Place in OUA

The number four nationally ranked Windsor Lancers men’s volleyball team travelled up to London on Friday to take on the Western Mustangs at Western’s Alumni Hall on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

On Friday the Lancers, the blue and gold came back from a 2-1 deficit to win a five-set thriller 3-2 (22-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21, and 15-10).

Meanwhile on Saturday, the Lancers took care of business in four sets with a 3-1 (25-20, 26-24, 28-30, and 25-19) victory as the visitors in the Forest City.

WEEKEND STATS

Gustavo Siqueira had 21 kills on Friday night and added another 21 kills to an impressive offensive weekend on Saturday afternoon to lead the Lancers attack.

Chase Bridges followed suit contributing heavily with his offensive prowess with his 13 kills on Friday and 12 followed up on Saturday.

Defensively Quintin Greenidge had an impressive 22 dig performance on Friday night and on Saturday added another 17 digs to keep his team in the game throughout the weekend from behind the 3-meter attack line.

Markus Law-Heese dished out 51 assists on Friday and added another 50 on Saturday to help create the successful Lancer offense throughout the weekend leading them to finish their regular season with a stellar 18-2 season record.

FRIDAY GAME FLOW

The Mustangs took the opening set on Friday following a competitive battle between both teams which carried on throughout the set. The purple and white found a way to remain consistent and edge the blue and gold 25-22 to take a 1-0 lead.

The Lancers responded with a set two win to tie the match up at one set apiece with a 25-20 victory that projected their resilience to remain in the Friday night fight.

Western replied in the third set with a 25-23 win to take a 2-1 lead in the tight tilt despite Windsor nipping at the Mustangs heels throughout the set who once had a lead as high as six points.

Windsor battled back hard in the fourth set sticking with Western throughout with both teams exchanging points during the duration of the set, however the Lancers found a way to make it out on top to trigger a fifth set.

The blue and gold claimed the fifth set with persistent play and put an exclamation mark to round out the match with a victory service ace from Joshua Timukas to ice the cake.

SATURDAY GAME FLOW

The opening set on Saturday started with the Lancers and Mustangs again rallying between one another looking to take an early advantage in the match. The blue and gold found a way to cross the finish line of the first set sooner by breaking open a small gap late in the first to close out 25-20 and go up 1-0.

Windsor got the offense flowing on all cylinders early in the second set earning a 6-point lead at 8-2 before Western resiliently battled back to force pressure against the Lancers from that point on following an equalized score at 18-18.

Both teams would continue to trade points down the stretch with each team continuing on into extra point territory unable to find a two-point cushion before then, however the Lancers would find a way to earn the close out two points at 26-24 to go up 2-0 in the match.

That same momentum rolled on into the third set with the Lancers and Mustangs each finding ways to remain in the contest with leads swapped between both teams again.

Western would find a way to stave off a sweep with laying claim to a 30-28 result which came as a reward for their tenacious efforts toward the end of the set to go into the fourth set down 2-1 to Windsor.

The match would wrap up in four without needing a fifth set for the second straight calendar day as the Lancers found their play that they proved capable of providing with consistency and did not let the Mustangs get closer throughout the set closing out the match 3-1 with their 25-19 win in the fourth set to affirm their place atop the OUA standings going into the post-season holding an 18-2 season record.

UP NEXT

The Lancers have wrapped up the 2024-25 regular season with having a bye week next weekend and will now prepare for their playoff season quest. Stay tuned for future updates regarding the upcoming playoffs which will be provided once available.