GUELPH, Ont. – Time is running out on the OUA women's volleyball season – and the Guelph Gryphons know a push will be necessary to earn a playoff berth. And the Gryphons hit a speed bump against a defensively-sound Brock Badgers team. Guelph started well but lost a tough five-setter (25-13, 23-25, 22-25, 25-17, and 7-15) to the Badgers Thursday night at the GGAC.
 
The Gryphons looked focused early and produced some excellent runs but ultimately regretted letting the close second and third sets go when they had chances to seize control of the match.
 
Michaela Hellinga paced the team with 11 kills and added 13 digs for the Gryphons, who fall to 7-7 on the year and 4-4 at home. Rookie Cassidy Collins was a force with 9 kills, 5 aces, and 3 blocks. Setter Alex Curran had another 43 assists to go with 3 blocks, while libero Tara Tanasijevic led all players with 15 digs.
 
Trailing 2-1 heading into the decisive fourth set, Guelph rebounded well. Lisa Wedel's kill tied the game 12-12 and kicked off an important 5-0 run. It was all Gryphons after that as they tied the match 2-2 with a combination of good offence and grit on defence.
 
But Guelph had trouble finding its game in the fifth and Brock pounced, immediately going up 4-0. Hazel Atkins (10 kills) and Hellinga came up with some big finishes to keep the Gryphons within a few points but the Badgers won 7 of the final 9 points, ending the match on a Laura Condotta ace.
 
The hosts had some good moments in the third set, including an early 5-0 run that pulled them ahead 6-4. Collins put one away for a 17-16 Guelph lead but that was the last time the team would be in front for the rest of the set. Brock won 9 of the next 14 points and went up 2-1 on another Condotta kill.
 
Guelph cruised midway through the first set and doubled the Badgers up at 14-7 after a Hellinga kill. The hosts pushed the lead to double digits and Hellinga had another kill to make it 24-13 before Curran came up with a sneaky tip over the net that surprised Brock's front line and secured the first set.
 
The 9-5 Badgers looked much more like themselves in the second, jumping out to a 15-7 lead following a Guelph attack error. But the Gryphons were resilient and fought back with a 6-0 run capped by two straight errors from the visitors. Noa Pijl helped the Gryphons get out in front 18-17 with some excellent serving. The teams went back and forth for a bit but at 22-22, Brock won two consecutive points and then finished the set off 25-23 with a big kill from Condotta, who had two of the final three points.
 
Guelph outhit the Badgers .230 to .186 and only had 18 errors in the match compared to 30 for the visitors. But Brock had 59 kills in addition to 59 digs. 
 
Gryphon Take
"Our girls tried really hard tonight. I don't question their effort at all. Unfortunately, our execution at crucial times, especially in the fifth set, went out the window. Brock's a good enough team that you can't just play portions of sets. And their defence was better. There was not a lot of difference statistically speaking but their digging was superior. That was one of the differences." – head coach Paul Funk 
 
The Record
Guelph is 7-7 
 
Next up
@ Ryerson, Saturday, Feb. 9, 6 pm