Feb. 5: Guelph 3 – McMaster 1 (25-23, 25-19, 20-25, 25-21)

Guelph, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphon men's volleyball team took on the McMaster Marauders tonight (Feb. 5) at the W.F. Mitchell Centre in Guelph. The two well-matched teams battled it out in an intense game with the Gryphons finally coming out on top 3-1. Set scores were 25-23, 25-19, 20-25, and 25-21.

The first set started out strong for the Gryphons, as they maintained a small lead over the Marauders who held second place in OUA standings. McMaster came with a strong offensive court with three statistically high scorers Kevin Stevens (Winnipeg, MB), Tyler Santoni (Kingston, ON), and Jori Mantha (Vanier, ON) who all contributed kills for the Marauders. Shayne Petrusma (Burlington, ON) also led his team this match in kills.  But, the Gryphons were able to keep up strong against the Marauders as the score went up point by point, and with help from Kevin Carey's (Grand Prairie, AB) strategic blocks and tips, finished the first set a close 25-23.

The Gryphons dominated the second set all the way through and they kept a good lead on the Marauders. Guelph demonstrated great blocking, especially Andrew McWilliams (North Dunwich, ON) who shut out multiple attempts. The Marauders struggled with returning Gryphon attacks, and due to a lack of communication found themselves running into each other if their blocks failed. The second set finished a confident 25-19.

The third set proved to be difficult for the Gryphons. The Marauders were not ready to give up this game and pushed themselves to overcome Guelph. The combination of Josh Lichty's (St. Catharines, ON) setting and the strong offensive lines helped the Marauders build a significant lead. The Gryphons worked hard to catch up, but with unnecessary errors and a few controversial referee calls, they remained a few points behind right until the end. The Marauder's took the set 20-25.

The Gryphons started out extremely shaky in the fourth. Within only minutes, the Marauders had built a six point lead and Guelph was trailing behind. Stevens and Mantha continued to add up points for McMaster and it seemed as though this game was going to enter a fifth and final set. But then, half way through, the Gryphons began to pick up momentum. With Revie's unstoppable attacks and Winston Rosser (Whitby, ON) shutting down multiple Marauder attempts, McMaster started to get nervous as the Gryphons score rose.

The end was close and at one point the two teams sat 21-20 and the tension filled the court. The competition that McMaster brought really pushed the Gryphon's to their full potential and they ended with some amazing plays. Guelph finished the set 25-21 and won their final home game of the regular season 3-1.

The Gryphons were led by Winston Rosser with 14 total points (12 kills, 2 ace, 8 digs) while the Marauders were led by Jori Mantha with 20 total points (17 kills, 4 digs).

The Gryphons play the Toronto Varsity Blues next in Toronto tomorrow (Feb 6). The game begins at 2pm.