GUELPH, ON – Just when the Guelph Gryphons men's volleyball team have finally figured out their new home, they have to leave it and go out on the road.
The Gryphs won their fourth straight match on Sunday at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre, earning a five-set win over the Western Mustangs. The set scores were 22-25, 26-24, 27-25, 21-25, 15-13.
The four-game winning streak follows on the heels of a three-game losing streak to open the new facility. But even though the team has to finish its regular season schedule with three matches on the road, they're confident they'll maintain their winning ways.
"We won in the first half on the road, and now we want to try to repeat the same thing," said head coach
Cal Wigston.
Sunday was Senior Day for the Gryphs, who paid tribute to
Gregory Olejnik and captain
Kyle Richards. Olejnik played his last match for Guelph and was a dominant presence, scoring 11 kills and collecting three digs.
"He's just a freak athlete. I've never coached a more athletic kid than him," Wigston said. "We just asked him to unload on balls today – see it, hit it. He hit a couple out of bounds which we just kind of laughed at, because we knew he'd fix that and do better."
"The guys played well, and they put me in a position where I could be successful," said the fourth-year middle blocker from Aurora, ON. "They were passing well and setting well, and it makes my job a lot easier when they play well."
Olejnik is leaving the team before its season-ending road games because he's heading to Australia for a four-month student exchange program. The marketing major was asked what he'll remember most about his time as a Gryphon.
"The daily grind of practice and working out and just being a student-athlete, having to manage both school and sports. It's something that definitely teaches you a lot of skills that I think will be applicable later in life," he said. "That's definitely going to be something that I'll remember for a lifetime.
"And just the camaraderie on the team. We have a really close group, and it's been a blast."
Richards agreed, and added that he'll cherish the strong support the team receives from Gryphon athletes in other varsity sports.
"The overall experience has been fantastic," said the fifth-year libero from London, ON. "It's been an honour to play here.
"Being a student-athlete is a fantastic thing, and to go out as captain and help these guys to be better people and better players has been an amazing opportunity."
"He does such a good job with guys in the dressing room, ensuring that he's available for them to talk to. And he's done that; he's counseled so many guys," Wigston said of Richards, calling him a natural leader.
"He works in the student athlete mentoring program and does a phenomenal job there of really helping these kids get better, helping them understand what it takes to be a student-athlete. We're extremely grateful for what Kyle does on and off the floor."
The Gryphs, as they did on Saturday in their sweep of Windsor, showed tremendous resilience against Western. The Mustangs took the first set and had excellent opportunities to win the next two sets as well; they led both sets 24-22 but couldn't close the deal either time.
"The guys were just so gritty, and bound and determined to win," Wigston said. "Our guys just refuse to give up. I don't think they even look at the score. I think they just keep going until someone tells them to stop."
"We always talk about staying aggressive. It's easy to get tentative in those moments, but our guys battled," Richards said. "So much fight, so much grit."
Kendrick Kerr led the Gryphs with 17 kills while
Zach Newman had 12 kills and seven digs.
Jared Harris also had 11 kills, and
Josh Green added 10 kills and six digs.
Samuel Kloke had 52 assists and eight digs while Kaj Wigston contributed 10 digs.
Guelph also got a big boost from the boisterous home crowd, a source of irritation for the Mustangs as the match wore on.
"Western's a really good team, and they're chasing us right now for second place. We want to be able to host a playoff game, because it's a special environment. You saw the fans that we get out here – they're nuts!" coach Wigston said, laughing. "They do a great job, and I'm really so grateful to have them."
The Gryphs improve to 10-4 in the OUA West standings, with third-place Western dropping to 8-5. The win bolsters Guelph's chances of finishing second, but the battle isn't over yet.
"We've still got a long way to go. Second's not clinched yet," said Richards, who vowed the team will battle in its upcoming road matches against Ryerson, Trent and Toronto.
"We're going to have our first playoff game in five years. That's going to be special, and we're going to fight to have it on home court."
