LONDON, Ont. – Starting off 2016 on a rough note, the Mustangs fell to the Waterloo Warriors after four sets of competitive action (23-25, 25-22, 20-25, 21-25) on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall. 
 
The loss moves the Mustangs to 5-6 on the season, tying them with York for fifth in the OUA. Waterloo, rebuilding their record after forfeiting a number of wins from last semester due to the use of an ineligible player, sits at 5-8 to match Nipissing for eighth.
 
"We knew Waterloo was a tough team," said starting setter Brad Hockin. "[And we lost] the first time we played them in their house. We were a little bit more hopeful this time, being in our home gym and we had a good week of practice trying to get ready, but obviously it wasn't enough."
 
"We need to keep things in perspective," said head coach Jim Sage. "Not get too high, too low as far as a loss. We don't like losing, we're in this to win. But we can't dwell on it. We need to refocus and get ready for tomorrow."
 
Doug Austrom, Zeid Hamadeh, and Mike Choja led the way for the Mustangs, each recording eleven points throughout the afternoon. On the Waterloo side of the scoresheet, Braden Cok earned the top spot with 19 points. 
 
It didn't take long for Waterloo to pull out their previously game-winning blocks and disrupt the Mustang system. Stopping the ball from crossing the net, Jordan McConkey was responsible for a number of both continued and successful blocks.
 
Trying to find ways around the towering block, the Mustangs gave up six points throughout the first set on balls sent out of bounds.
 
Initially joining the floor to serve for a fellow teammate, Bryn Ramsay also shone at the net as one of the few athletes on the floor able to avoid Warrior hands without sending the ball into a back wall.
 
Stalling the Waterloo advance at 23, Western had clawed their way up the scoreboard to reduce the point difference from a set-high seven to only one. Unable to hold off the Warriors any longer, the first set ended as a 23-25 loss for the Mustangs.
 
"We started to get our momentum back," noted Sage. "A point here, a point there, it could have gone either way. To get it back to 23-25 was good."
 
Back on the floor for the second set the Mustangs wasted no time in focusing in on a victory. Hamadeh and Ramsay kicked off the effort with kills that sent the crowd into a frenzy, while an ace from fifth-year captain Austrom brought the purple and white lead up just a little bit more.
 
Holding onto the lead through the technical timeout, the return to the court saw a complete reversal of the first set. Now, it was the Warrriors' turn to send balls spinning towards the back wall in an attempt to put some points on the board.
 
Struggling against the revitalized Mustangs, Waterloo dropped the second set 25-22.
 
The third set saw the tightest competition on the floor, with Western and Waterloo trading points until 8-8 when the Warriors began to pull ahead. Angling their attack so that the purple and white block would send the ball out of bounds, the Warriors were forcing the Mustangs into giving up points all on their own.
 
After a few triple blocks put down Mustang attackers, the purple and white reverted back to over-hitting to compensate.
 
Unable to come back after falling behind, the Mustangs dropped the third set 20-25.
 
Returning to the court the Mustangs kept pace with the Warriors as they sported matching scores at 11-11. The return of Gavin Taylor in the fourth set proved fruitful as he and Evan Hammond patrolled the net and threw up three consecutive blocks – each recording one solo and one assisted – to give the Mustangs a three-point lead and force a Warrior timeout.
 
Waterloo roared back into action following the break with more targeted attacks and the return of their notorious blocking, forcing another shakeup for the purple and white lineup.
 
The Warriors continued to capitalize on their strong blocks, while Gibson Graham's presence in the backcourt prevented Western's attacks from landing in open court.
 
While the Mustangs launched a counter attack and managed to narrow the point difference, they struggled to outscore the Warriors, ultimately falling 21-25.
 
Looking forward to tomorrow's match against the Windsor Lancers, Hockin says in in order to lock down a win the team needs to focus on consistency.
 
"It's all about consistency for me. Bad passes lead to bad sets, which lead to bad swings, and errors for us that we can't have. It starts with the passing, but everybody's got to contribute and we just weren't all on the same page today. A few two many errors from everybody."
 
The Mustangs are back in action tomorrow afternoon when they take on the Windsor Lancers for the second time this season. The first serve is expected to be sent out at 3 p.m., with fans able to watch the action live on OUA.tv.