LONDON, Ont. (November 24, 2017) – The Gaels suffered a tough loss 3-2 on the road at Western. The scores of each set were 19-25, 25-18, 25-22, 21-25 and 13-15.

GAME FLOW
In the first set, the Tricolour had an even start with the Mustangs until the 7th point. Western kept the Gaels at bay for five points as they took the lead, leaving Queen's trailing behind. A great team effort by Joel Rudd (Cambridge, Ont.), Markus Trence (Hockley Valley, Ont.), Malcolm Prentice (Oakville, Ont.) and Mitchell Neuert (Toronto, Ont.) helped the Gaels put pressure on the Mustangs. Unfortunately, Queen's was unable to catch Western's lead, and they lost the set 25-19. 

The second set showed an early lead for the Gaels, with Jack Peckham (Hamilton, Ont.) scoring the first kill of the set. Queen's maintained their early lead for the entire set, playing fantastic defence against the Mustang's attacks. The frame ended on three consecutive errors by the Mustangs, clinching the set win with a score of 25-18. The Gaels tied up the match against Western with a score of 1-1.   

The Gaels took another early lead in the third set of the match, keeping the Mustangs trailing far behind for most of the frame. Queen's lengthened their lead to a 7-point lead until Western battled back, closing the gap to just two points. The Tricolour took the set on a kill by Rudd with a final score of 25-22. The Gaels took the lead in the match 2-1.

The fourth set was an even affair, the Gaels and the Mustangs going point for point in most of the set. It wasn't until the score was 21-21, that the Gaels lost their grip on the tie, giving the Mustangs four points to win the set. Western took it with a score of 25-21 and tied the match at 2-2.

The fifth and final set of the game was another even match up and was another nail-biting point for point game between the Gaels and the Mustangs. Queen's held their own against the hard hits sent by the Mustangs, and they found several openings in the Western defence to keep them in the game. The set was tied at 11-11 when the Mustangs took a two-point lead, leaving the Gaels trailing behind. A service error by Western gave the Gaels a point, but the Mustangs found an opening in the Gaels defence to make a kill. Another error by Western put the Gaels one point behind with a score of 14-13, but another kill by the Mustangs ended the set and the match. The final score of the set was 15-13, and the final score of the match was 3-2 in favour of Western.

BY THE NUMBERS
2 – serving aces for Malcom Prenctice
10 – kills for Rudd, Peckham and Neuert this match
12 – digs for Lukas Kaufman (Stratford, Ont.)

UP NEXT
The Gaels hit the road to take on the Windsor Lancers in Windsor on November 25th at 8 pm. Watch the action live on OUA.tv.