GUELPH, ON – The Guelph Gryphons men's volleyball team wasn't ready to let go.
 
But that's what they had to do on Sunday – to their season, and also to their home in the West Gym at the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre.
 
The Barn's final volleyball match ended on a sour note for the Gryphs, who fell in four sets to the Waterloo Warriors. Game scores were 19-25, 23-25, 25-15, 14-25.
 
The West Gym, which opened in 1957, is the only home the team has ever known. When the Gryphs return next season, they'll be playing in the new athletics centre being built nearby.
 
Both losses were emotional for the home team, which avoided a Senior Night sweep with some very inspired play in the third set, only to let it slip away in the end.
 
"This game of volleyball is such a momentum game," said Gryphs head coach Cal Wigston. "You can't let teams go on runs. In that fourth set, they killed us by going on that big run. That just buried us."
 
It was midway through the fourth set when the Warriors, clinging to a 13-12 lead, reeled off a four-point run to take command, and then added another five points in a row for good measure. The end was just a matter of time after that.
 
"We're not good enough yet to be playing catch-up ball with them," Wigston said of his squad, which finished the season 10^th in the 11-team OUA standings and will not advance to the playoffs.
 
Guelph's final record is 6-14. Waterloo ended up 11-9, good for fifth place.
 
"We just had a tough one, and that's just the way it goes," said fourth-year right-side Luke Woud, one of two departing seniors. He finished his last match with nine kills.
 
"It's a little disappointing," the native of Uxbridge, ON, said of the end of his career with the Gryphs. "We're looking forward to some new guys coming into the program, and hopefully they can leave off a little better than I did."
 
Kyle Richards is the other senior who was honoured before Sunday's match. The fourth-year setter from London, ON, who has not ruled out returning for a fifth and final year next season, had five digs.
 
Third-year left-side Josh Green of Georgetown, ON, stood out for Guelph with 15 kills. Kendrick Kerr, a sophomore middle blocker also from Georgetown, had eight kills while rookie left-side Samuel Otten of Delaware, ON, added seven kills and sophomore setter Samuel Kloke of Whitby, ON, contributed 39 assists.
 
Coach Wigston said it was a discouraging season because the team didn't make the playoffs, but he pointed out that the Gryphs have been ravaged by injuries.
 
"But it is what it is, and we've got to continue to get better," said the coach, who started three rookies on Sunday simply because of a lack of depth. "We've got lots of good recruits coming in, and that's going to challenge the guys who are returning to be better.
 
"We've got five commits right now, and one more recruit that we're waiting on. We're really happy with the kids that we have coming in, and we really think that we've shored up our left-side hitting spot. We'll be good there."
 
As for the West Gym, the Gryphs will miss it, but Wigston said they don't plan to be strangers.
 
"It's got such great character in here," he said. "We're not necessarily saying goodbye. We'll still have probably two practices a week in here. We'll still keep the Barn tradition going."
 
A team picture was taken before the last match, and the Gryphs all autographed the game ball. The women's squad did the same before their last match a week ago. The photos and the balls will be featured in the new facility when it is opened.