OUA roundup: Mustangs on top of OUA standings

LONDON, Ont. - The Western Mustangs men's volleyball team reclaimed the top spot in OUA with its 10th straight regular season win. The Mustangs took care of the York Lions (3-11) in three straight sets on Sunday, 25-13, 25-6 and 26-24. With the win they improve to 12-1 on the year, with the McMaster Marauders a half game back at 12-2.

Mathew Waite (St. Thomas, Ont.) was a dominant force at the net with 14 points, including four solo and two assisted blocks. Eric Simon (London, Ont.) added four service aces to give him 30 on the year, No. 1 in the OUA.

The Mustangs started off strong in the first set and after a yellow card on York pushed the lead to 11-6, the Mustangs used the momentum to their advantage finishing the set off 25-13.

Simon kept the hot start going in the second set with back-to-back aces to lead York 4-0. After a Matthew Gibson (Oshawa, Ont.) ace pushed the lead to 13-5, York attempted to regroup by calling a time out. The Mustangs could not be cooled down though and dominated the rest of the set, going on a 12-1 run to win the set 25-6.

However, the Lions did not want to take the loss sitting down and played with a lot more energy in the third set. Each team exchanged points throughout the set with neither team holding a large lead. With the home crowd rallying behind the Mustangs they came from two points down late in the set to finish off the Lions 26-24.

On Saturday the Mustangs defeated the Ryerson Rams in three sets in Alumni Hall.

The first set proved to be an easy victory for the Mustangs with a 25-14 win. The second set was a back and forth battle for the win. A combination of Mathieu Poulin (Winnipeg) offensive and defensive excellence and Phil James (Ottawa) set winning block allowed the Mustangs to win 25-24 and advance with a  2-0 advantage. The third set proved to be a challenge for the Mustangs as they trailed most of the set, coming back to clinch the set 26-24.

WINDSOR 3, RYERSON 0

At Windsor the Lancers (9-4) swept the Ryerson Rams (3-11) on Sunday (25-18, 27-25, 25-15).

Justin Kuskoff (Sarnia, Ont.) and Josh Edwards (Kingston, Ont.) led the Lancers with 10 kills and 12 points each.

Chris McLaughlin (Ottawa) earned a game-high 14 kills and 15 points for the Rams.

WATERLOO 3, RMC 0

At RMC, the Waterloo Warriors (7-7) defeated the host Paladins 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-12) on Sunday.

Corey Yednoroz (Windsor, Ont.) led the Warriors with 13 kills and 16 points.

RMC's Philip Gulajski (Ottawa) recorded five kills and six points. RMC dropped to 0-15 on the season.

TORONTO 3, LAURIER 1

At Wilfrid Laurier, the Varsity Blues (6-7) defeated the host Golden Hawks 3-1 (25-20, 29-31, 25-16, 25-22) on Sunday.

Michael Manning earned 21 kills and 23 points for the Varsity Blues, and teammate Steven Kung chipped in with 19 kills and 20 points of his own.

Laurier's Cameron Wheelan (Barrie, Ont.) earned a team-high 19 kills and 20 points. The Golden Hawks fell to 6-8 on the season.

MCMASTER 3, RMC 0

At RMC, the No. 6 nationally-ranked McMaster Marauders swept their weekend trip to Kingston, Ont. with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-23) win over the RMC Paladins on Saturday.

Shane Petrusma (Bowmanville, Ont.) led the Marauders with 11 kills and 17 points. McMaster earned a five-set victory against Queen's on Friday.

Paul Demers (Manitowaning, Ont.) led RMC with 10 kills and 10 points.

WATERLOO 3, QUEEN'S 1

At Queen's, the Waterloo Warriors upset the host Gaels 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 17-25, 25-21) on Saturday.

Aaron Dam (Grimsby, Ont.) led the Warriors with 15 points. Teammate Tyler Vivian (Mitchell, Ont.) recorded 11 kills and 11 points.

Joren Zeeman (Cambridge, Ont.) earned a game-high 20 kills and 22 points for the Gaels. Queen's dropped to 10-4 after two home losses.

WINDSOR 3, YORK 2

At Windsor, the Lancers defeated the York Lions in five sets (25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 22-25, 15-8) on Saturday.

Kyle Williamson (Essex, Ont.) earned 16 kills and 18 points for the Lancers. Windsor teammates Shane Byrne (LaSalle, Ont.) and Justin Kuskoff (Sarnia, Ont.) contributed 14 points.

Reid Hall (Georgetown, Ont.) led the Lions with 20 kills and 22 points.

Source: Western Mustangs with files from OUA Communications