North Bay, ON – The Nipissing Lakers Men's Volleyball team lost a heartbreaking game to the Western Mustangs, losing 3-2 in 5 sets at RJS Athletics Centre on November 28.  

Nipissing found themselves down 6-3 to begin the first set but then scored 6 points in a row to take a 9-6 lead. Ben Franz and Taydon Shantz had kills in the run. Nipissing would score 3 more in a row, leading 13-8. Western woke up, taking 5 of 6 the next 6 points to trail by a single point. The teams traded points until Nipissing lead 19-16, then 20-17. A Trent O'Brien kill gave the Lakers a 23-20 lead. Western would score 3 of the next 4 points, but Ben Franz finished the set with a kill, as the Lakers won 25-23.  

The second set began slowly with both teams scoring one after the other until the score was tied at 7. The Lakers won 3 in a row to lead 10-7 before Western took 4 of the next 6 to trail by 1. Nipissing won 5 of the next 6 to lead 17-12. Nipissing would maintain their lead after a few back-and-forth rallies and led 22-16. Western would fight for their life in the set, winning 3 in a row, cutting Nipissing's lead to 3. The Lakers would take the set 25-21, capitalizing off many Mustangs errors down the stretch.  

The third set began in similar fashion to the previous 2, as the teams found themselves tied at 7. Western would then win 3 in a row to lead 10-7. Marc Marchand's kill gave Nipissing some life, before Western took 6 points in a row to lead 16-9. Nipissing would fight back, taking 5 of 6 points to trail by just 3. The Lakers got as close as 2 points to Western but never led the set again, as Western took it 25-22.  

Western jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the fourth set, as they looked to build off the momentum of their 3rd set win. They won 4 of 5 shortly after, leading 10-5. Then, the Mustangs took 4 of the next 6 to lead 14-8. Marc Marchand's kill gave Nipissing their 9th point and got the Lakers going again. Nipissing then took 5 of the next 6 to trail by just 2. Western responded, taking 4 of the next 6 points, leading 19-15. They then scored 4 of 5, before Nipissing responded, cutting the Western lead to 3. Western closed the set 25-21, forcing a decisive 5th set.  

The 5th was a wild, action-packed set for both teams. Western took a 5-4 lead, before Nipissing tied it at 5 the next point. This trend woud continue until Western scored 3 in a row, leading 9-6. Nipissing responded with 3 in a row of their own, tying the march at 9. 

Both teams had opportunities to end the match, as the score hit 15-15, meaning the winning team must win by 2 points. Nipissing lead 16-15, Western tied the match at 16. Western lead 18-17, Nipissing tied the match at 18. Nipissing tied things up again at 19, but Western took 2 in a row, winning 21-19, and the match 3-2.  

Zander Kasunich scored 15 kills in the match, followed closely by Marc Marchand with 14. Trent O'Brien had 9 kills; Ben Franz and Taydon Shantz had 8, and Jimmy Gill had 6. Ben Franz had a stellar 4 service aces. Xavier Legace had a strong 21 digs, followed by Jack Svendsen with 15.  

The loss moves the Lakers to 3-6 on the season.  

Nippising is back in action Saturday, November 29th, as the Western Mustangs are the opponents at 4PM at RJS Athletics Centre. Follow the action live on OUA.tv. 

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