WATERLOO, ON – Thursday afternoon at the University of Waterloo, over 800 screaming elementary students were on hand to cheer on the Warriors men's volleyball team as part of Waterloo's inaugural "school day" volleyball game. Thanks to an impressive team performance from the visiting Guelph Gryphons, there wasn't much to cheer about for the boisterous home crowd.
 
The Gryphons spoiled the Warriors home opener, winning in straight sets 25-23, 25-20 & 25-22 in what was a rare 11am, mid-week start time. With the win, the Gryphons improve to 3-1 on the season, with their only loss coming against four-time defending OUA champions McMaster. Waterloo meanwhile falls to 1-2 on the season.
 
With an energized gymnasium full of elementary school kids, not only was the crowd not on the Gryphons side, neither was history. The Waterloo Warriors, a perennial playoff contender in OUA men's volleyball, entered Thursday's matchup with Guelph having won 10 straight head-to-head regular season meetings with the Gryphons. That streak, which dates back to January of 2011, officially came to an end on Thursday thanks to yet another impressive road win for the Gryphons.  
 



















"Our guys were once again really focused. Jared (Harris) was fantastic, so was Ken (Kendrick Kerr) and Josh (Green). We just had a bunch of guys who were hitting in positive figures today. We were resilient and didn't break when they tried to put pressure on us," said Gryphons head coach Cal Wigston after the match.
 
There was certainly plenty of pressure in what was a tight opening set, which the Gryphons took 25-23. Second year left side Jared Harris was the Gryphons player of the match, recording 3 aces, 8 kills and no errors while hitting at an impressive clip of .571. Harris had a team-high 11 points, followed by Josh Green who racked up 8 kills and 8.5 points. Kaj Wigston had a team-high 5 digs.
 
After taking the second set 25-20, the Gryphons would come out on top of a sea-saw third set, winning 25-22. With that, the Gryphons were able to snap a 10-game skid versus U of W, recording their first win versus the Warriors since January 7, 2011.
 
Having won three straight road games in a span of seven days, the Gryphons (3-1) now have an opportunity to rest up and prepare for their home opener with a full week off before they host the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) Paladins on Friday, November 18. Game time versus RMC is set for 8pm at the W.F. Mitchell Centre and will be followed by a Saturday night (Nov. 19) home game versus Queen's.