The Guelph Gryphons men's volleyball team met up with the Toronto Varsity Blues tonight (Feb 3^rd) in Guelph at the W.F Mitchell Centre. The Gryphons weren't able to play to their full potential against the sixth placed team, and dropped the match 3-1. Set scores were 22-25, 25-23, 13-25, and 21-25.

The Gryphons drop down to a 9-8 record, sitting in fourth place in the OUA. Toronto adds another win to the board for a 4-11 record.

Set one started out rough for the Gryphons and the struggle lingered throughout the match. Toronto built an early lead, and they maintained it straight to the end. The Gryphons dealt with some confusion on the court, leading to some unnecessary errors. However, as the set came to a close, the Gryphons started pulling it together and managed to tighten the gap. They put enough pressure when the board read 22-24 for the Varsity Blues to call a time-out, but they weren't able to take it.

The Gryphons came out stronger in the second set and won a crucial rally between the two teams after quick thinking from Patrick Strzalkowski (St. Catharines, ON). The Varsity Blues had libero Michael Denton (Scarborough, ON) as a secret weapon who contributed 9 digs this game and 138 overall this season. With help from Winston Rosser (Whitby, ON) 12 kills this match, the Gryphons took the second set 25-23.

Set number three fell apart for Guelph as they struggled to respond to Toronto's attacks. Right-side hitter Mitchell Woodside (Clyde River, PEI) wreaked havoc against the Gryphons with 13 overall kills and an ace. A number of attack errors from Guelph didn't help the score as it rose higher for the Varsity Blues – ultimately ending in a disappointing 13-25 finish.

The fourth set was the Gryphons last chance at salvaging the game and they came into it ready to go. The score rose point-by-point and Guelph picked up momentum, leading the score midway through. Rookie Connor Cressman (Waterloo, ON) contributed an ace for the Gryphons, while Rosser, Greg Houston (Chatham, ON) and Andrew Whitaker (Sharon, ON) all fought for kills.

In the final minutes of the game Toronto overcame Guelph on the scoreboard and the score sat at 21-24. A final Toronto attack that resulted in a hotly debated referee call finished the set 21-25. Toronto brought the win home with them, 3-1.

The Gryphons will be taking on the York Lions tomorrow night (Feb 4^th) at the W.F Mitchell Centre for their last game of the regular season. The game begins at 8pm.