The defending OUA champions’ win streak just reached eight.

The women’s volleyball team beat the Western Mustangs (7-4) on the road in straight sets on Saturday afternoon.

The win marked a turnaround from the previous week, when the Gaels struggled to beat lowly Brock and Waterloo, 3-2 in both matches.

Team captain Katie Neville, said the Gaels played well because of greater focus from the onset.

“Last week we were sort of going through the motions,” she said. “[Against Western,] we really stepped on the court and fought for every point.”

Neville said that the Gaels shifted their offensive attacks to come from both the middle and the right side. The team’s average number of kills on attacks (kill percentage) was 22 per cent, compared to Western’s average of 7.4 per cent.

Third-year middle Katie Hagarty led Queen’s offensively with 11 kills on 20 total attacks. Second-year Katie Spadoni had her first career start as a setter and played a major role with 33 assists and 10 digs.

“I thought [Spadoni] did an awesome job — she stepped on the court and really took care of business,” Neville said. “It was her first big shot and she really stepped up.”

Next weekend will be a big test for the Gaels as they face off against the number one Ottawa Gee-Gees (13-1) on the road. The Gee-Gees defeated the Gaels 3-1 in preseason play.

“If we aren’t prepared to fight on the court, we aren’t going to be performing and get the outcome that we want,” Neville said. “They are a great team, but if we take care of business on our side we can do fine.”