GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons women's volleyball team needed a rebound. One night after dropping a tough five-setter on their home court, the Gryphons were businesslike beating the RMC Paladins 3-0 (25-19, 25-12 and 25-21) at the GGAC Saturday night.
 
Third-year left side Michaela Hellinga, who was excellent against the Queen's Gaels, led all players in kills with 15. Cassidy Collins and Lisa Wedel added 10 each, while third-year setter Alex Curran had a game-high 46 assists to go along with 13 digs. Tara Tanasijevic produced another defensive gem and added to her OUA-leading digs total with 23 more.
 
Guelph weren't lacking energy after taking the Gaels to a fifth set Friday and it didn't take long for the hosts to begin imposing their will on the winless Paladins. RMC showed plenty of toughness in the opening set and made a run to get close late but the Gryphons took the final four points for a 1-0 lead.
 
Guelph dominated in the second set and registered 19 kills with just a single error en route to a .391 hitting percentage. But it was far from easy in the decisive third set as the Paladins would go up 17-16. The hosts settled things down and rattled off five straight points before a Hellinga kill and an RMC service error ended the match.
 
The Gryphons were far more powerful up front, finishing the night with 51 kills to 28 for the Paladins and 10 blocks (4 from Collins and 3 from Wedel) compared to 1 for the visitors.


Gryphon Take
"Tonight was a must-win match for us to stay in the playoff hunt so we were happy to get the win. We are not playing our best volleyball right now and our confidence isn't at its highest but we are grinding out set wins and tonight we had enough. Michaela had another good offensive night and our bench players did well again. We need to find our mojo quickly as our next five matches could decide our fate this season." – head coach Paul Funk
 
The Record
Guelph is 6-6
 
Next up
Nipissing, Saturday, Jan. 26, 1 pm @ Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre