OTTAWA, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons women's volleyball team finished the 2017/18 OUA season on a fantastic run. This year's edition of the Gryphons, with two key veterans having departed and a number of new faces added, seem poised for success after piling up a few wins in their first action of the year. Guelph won four of five matches at the Gee-Gees Preseason Classic, including a 3-2 victory over the McMaster Marauders to leave Ottawa with a bronze medal.
 
The Gryphons defeated McMaster 18-25, 25-16, 26-15, 21-25 and 15-11 on Sunday to cap the successful tournament with a win. Second-year middle blocker Lisa Wedel and second-year libero Tara Tanasijevic were named tournament all-stars.
 
Guelph got off to an excellent start in the event, defeating the Memorial Sea-Hawks in straight sets (25-15, 25-17) and the Sherbrooke Vert Et Or 2-1 (27-25, 17-25, 25-21). Head coach Paul Funk experimented with lineups, playing the whole roster to see what level his players were at. And the results were good. They performed well with only a slight dip in play during the second set against Sherbrooke.
 
The Gryphons suffered their only loss of the tournament in the first match of the second day, dropping a straight-set affair to perennial power and eventual Gee-Gees Preseason Classic champions the Toronto Varsity Blues (16-25, 22-25). The two teams met in last season's OUA quarter-finals, a match in which Guelph mounted a furious rally to steal the fourth set and force a decisive fifth. The Gryphons responded well from the loss and after going down a set to the Montreal Carabins, they went on to take the next two in convincing fashion (26-28, 25-13, 25-19), enabling them to move on and compete for the bronze medal.

 
Gryphon Take
"We had our ups and downs this weekend but overall we performed fairly well. We have a lot of work yet to do but it was a good start to the year." – head coach Paul Funk

 
Up Next
Ottawa, Thursday Oct. 4, 11 am @ McMaster Thanksgiving Classic in Hamilton, ON
TBD, Friday Oct. 5 and Saturday, Oct. 6 @ McMaster Thanksgiving Classic in Hamilton, ON