Box Score THUNDER BAY, Ont. – It's the longest road trip of the year. But the Guelph Gryphons women's volleyball team started its two-day visit to Thunder Bay on a high, defeating the Lakehead Thunderwolves 3-1 (27-25, 26-24, 25-27, 25-22) in a tight road match on Friday night at the CJ Sanders Fieldhouse.
 
The Gryphons dug deep and overcame a fourth-set deficit to notch an important win. Third-year left side Michaela Hellinga led Guelph with 18 kills, while first-year player Noa Pijl added another 12.
 
The Gryphons started sluggish after a 4:00 am wake-up call to make the flight to Thunder Bay but they fought through it to take an impressive 2-0 lead in a pair of tight sets. Guelph had its chance to sweep but Lakehead was able to hang on to win the third set 27-25 in front of the home fans.
 
It looked like a fifth might be required after the Thunderwolves took a 16-12 lead in the fourth. But Guelph was able to win the next three points, all of which had long rallies, to spur an 8-2 run that would put the visitors up 20-18. The stretch gave the team a huge lift and the confidence to close out the match, which they did with a timely block on a Lakehead kill attempt.
 
Guelph will play the back end of the weekend doubleheader tomorrow night at the CJ Sanders Fieldhouse.

 
Gryphon Take
"That was a really gritty win for us considering the long day we had. We weren't playing at our best and part of that goes to Lakehead because they put pressure on us with their serve. We didn't play at our top level but found a way to get it done in the end. There were times when we were struggling to score and Michaela came through for us. In the fourth set we did a very good job of hanging around, making a run at the right time." – head coach Paul Funk

 
The Record
Guelph is 3-2.

 
Next up
@ Lakehead, Saturday, Nov. 17, 7 pm