LONDON, Ont. – Honouring seniors Serena Smith and Corrine Mazurkiewicz in the best way possible, the Mustangs took down the Nipissing Lakers in straight sets (28-26, 25-15, 25-22) at Alumni Hall on Sunday afternoon.
 
The win, which came on Senior Day, is the tenth straight for Western, allowing them to remain at the top of OUA West at 14-2. The Lakers, now at 2-14, sit sixth in the East Division.
 
"At the end of the day we wanted to win in three," said Smith. "We're happy about that. It was a lot closer than we were hoping, we were expecting, and what we're capable of. At the end of the day we met our goal though so we're happy."
 
Kelsey Veltman topped the scoresheet with 16.5 points, while Senior Day honouree Smith came in at 10.5. It may have been senior night, but the Mustang rookies also found themselves in the spotlight. Emma Somerville took over as starting libero to pick up 11 digs, while Kaleigh Matheson joined the floor to record eight kills and a service ace.
 
The Lakers were led by both Tracy Hammerton and Cassandra Dobson offensively as each picked up 7 points.
 
The opening points of the set can only be described as off-kilter. Struggling to handle Anabelle Harvey's serves, they were seemingly a beat off every play.
 
"We made lots of unforced errors, especially at the start," said interim head coach Heather Brinkman. "I think nine of their first 13 points were our errors."
 
 It wasn't until Veltman found the floor with one of her characteristically powerful kills that the Mustangs found their footing. However, the Lakers weren't about to let go of the set.  Without the same amount of firepower on the floor, Nipissing focused on a scrappy defense and strong serving to carry them through the set.
 
The Lakers shared responsibility in both the back and front of the court to keep the Mustangs guessing where the kill would be coming from. Kat Tsiofas, in contrast, chose to concentrate the sets in the middle for Veltman and Candice Scott.
 
Relying on the middles to carry them through the set, the Mustangs closed out the first at 28-26.
 
After the first set was nearly stolen away from them, the Mustangs hit the court hard for the second without hesitation.
 
While the Lakers continued their impressive defensive play at the previous level, the Mustangs upped their game. Cleaner serve reception was perhaps the biggest change in the purple and white game, while Smith made the most of her final Alumni Hall game by dominating at the net.
 
To their credit, Nipissing made a point of better avoiding Western's blockers and were often able to salvage the play should the ball find it's way back to their half of the floor. However, it wasn't enough to slow down Western as they rushed through the set
 
The Lakers were back in peak form for the third set.
 
As a team Nipissing focused on accuracy in all parts of the game. Attackers focused on chipping the ball off the purple and white block if they were unable to find the floor themselves. However, they also forced Western to be more careful. The Lakers carefully patrolled the sidelines and were careful to allow the Mustangs to overshoot and hand them a point.
 
Momentum shifted between the teams as the Mustangs traded points with the Lakers, with Western riding the final wave to 25-22 after Veltman took over at the net.
 
The Mustangs return to the floor next week when they head to St. Catherines to take on the Brock Badgers, who they took down 3-1 earlier this season.