GUELPH – The Guelph Gryphons men's volleyball team was desperate to stop a slide. They did exactly that, in emphatic fashion, Friday night at the GGAC. The Gryphons snapped a three-match losing streak by dominating the visiting Waterloo Warriors 3-0, winning by scores of 25-15, 25-23 and 25-16.
 
The two rivals last met in the OUA semi-finals last March in Hamilton, a match Waterloo took in three closely-contested sets. Guelph (5-7) returned the favour, while also vaulting into the final playoff position in the OUA West.
 
Head coach Cal Wigston called it a "do-or-die" game.
 
"It was a must-win," said Wigston. "And the guys answered the call." 
 
Fourth-year right side Zachary Newman and fourth-year middle blocker Kendrick Kerr had 9 kills each, while setter Samuel Kloke registered 35 assists. First-year left side Zarko Ubiparip was a revelation, with 8 kills and tremendous overall play.

 
"The rookie came through for us," said Wigston. "Zarko was really good tonight. It was exactly what we needed."
 
The Gryphons showed some killer instinct after taking the first two sets. They quickly went up 7-1 and continued to flash their power all through the set. Fifth-year left side Joshua Green finally ended the match with a monster kill.
 
Guelph neutralized Waterloo's talented up-front combination of Jordan McConkey and Matthew Mawdsley. The big and physical Warriors never really got going offensively as the Gryphons worked hard to slow them down.
 
Guelph played with purpose right off the bat, utilizing several small runs to go up 20-12 in the opening set before closing strong. Newman rebounded from an attack error to produce a kill on the next point, which spurred a 4-0 run to finish the set. The Gryphons were sharp in the opener, with 11 kills.
 
The second set was much tighter, with Waterloo jumping out to a 19-16 lead. But Guelph would take five of the next six points, beginning with a Ubiparip kill. He added another for a 22-21 lead and the Gryphons took the final two points on a Green block and a Waterloo attack error, for a commanding 2-0 advantage.
 
"We came out flying," said Wigston. "I could see that the guys were focused and dialed in.
 
"Second sets have been a problem for us and we started slow again. But they battled and passed really well. It was a great win."
 
Despite the big night, Guelph got bad news on the injury front. Third-year libero Jared Harris severely hurt his ankle in warm up and will likely miss the remainder of the season.

"It's really unfortunate," said Wigston. "That's a huge loss for us but we'll have to receover."
 
The Gryphons and Warriors meet again in Waterloo on Saturday, Feb. 3. Match time is 8 pm.