GUELPH, Ont. –  The OUA West promises to be a tough division for several women's volleyball teams. And the Guelph Gryphons found out early that there won't be many easy days ahead. Guelph lost 3-1 to the Waterloo Warriors in the season opener Saturday afternoon at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre.

The hosts took the first set 25-20 but dropped the next three 19-25, 22-25, and 18-25.

Rookie Noa Pijl led all Gryphons with 14 kills, while third-year setter Alex Curran had 40 assists. Second-year libero Tara Tanasijevic paced the team with 22 digs, including one outstanding effort that kept a critical point alive and helped Guelph take the first set.

The Gryphons were unable to put many runs together in the opener and Waterloo was imposing, producing 56 kills, including a match-high 21 from fifth-year left side Claire Mackenzie.
Waterloo went up 10-3 in the fourth set and survived a Guelph surge, with Mackenzie producing the match-winning kill.

Guelph served well to take the first 25-20 but quickly ran into trouble in the second. Waterloo dictated the play and jumped out to a 20-11 lead, though Pijl helped get it to 24-19 with a couple timely finishes. The Warriors eventually won the set 25-19 when Mackenzie Vallee's kill attempt from the left side went off a Guelph player and out of bounds.

Waterloo built a lead again in the third set before the Gryphons made a nice late run. Hazel Atkins had a big kill and the Warriors sent a dig attempt out of bounds, helping Guelph get within three at 24-21. But Claire Mackenzie nailed down the set for Waterloo with a decisive kill that glanced off a Gryphon defender.

Guelph was fairly even in most stat categories but the glaring difference between the two teams was service aces (15-4 in favour of Waterloo) and reception errors (15 for Guelph to 4 for the Warriors).

 
Gryphon Take
"We didn't string points together because our consistency in a lot of phases of the game wasn't there. We didn't attack the ball particularly well, or block particularly well, or serve particularly well. We were streaky in all of those areas. Waterloo was more consistent. And they won a lot of individual battles. We also dug ourselves a hole either early or in the middle of sets. It's hard to win sets and matches when you're constantly playing from behind."– head coach Paul Funk

 
The Record
Guelph is 0-1.

 
Next up
York, Friday, Nov. 2, 6 pm @ Gryphon Centre Arena