GUELPH, Ont. - They say all good things must come to an end, and for the Guelph Gryphons their undefeated start to the 2019 OUA regular season came to an end Saturday afternoon at the GGAC. Playing host to the Western Mustangs, the No. 8-nationally ranked Gryphons dropped a five-set thriller to the visitors from London. The loss comes after Guelph had won their first five matches of the 2019-20 campaign.
In what wound up being a back and forth affair, the two teams traded blow for blow all throughout the match which lasted over two hours.
As the game got underway, it was the Mustangs who were able to establish the tempo early on. Jumping out to a 9-3 advantage, Western was able to quiet the Gryphon faithful at the GGAC, while also establishing a comfortable lead. As the Gryphons tried to gather momentum, it seemed the Mustangs were able to come up with an answer every time. Eventually, Western would go on to take the set 25-16.
When the 2nd set rolled around, the Gryphons were able to get their feet underneath them, and show Western why they are a Top-10 team in the country. Using an all-around attack that saw kills from Zarko Ubiparip, Matthew Baxter, Jonathan Pickett, Jakson Paterson and Arjun Selhi to name a few, the Gryphons were able to lead throughout much of the 2nd set en route to a 25-20 victory evening the match at a set a piece.
In the 3rd set it was more of the same from the Gryphons. With strong kills at the net, and big blocks, Guelph was able to cruise to a 25-16 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Unfortunately for the Gryphons that third set victory remained illusive for them the rest of the way. Despite going back and forth with the Mustangs in the 4th set, it was ultimately Western who was able to secure a 25-19 win.
Then in the 5th and final set, the Mustangs were able to establish an early 6-1 lead, which in the race to 15 proved to be just a bit too much to overcome. The Mustangs took the final set 15-10 to win the match 3-2.
"We had a tough night," said Gryphon's head coach Cal Wigston. "I think some of that can happen when you get to be 5-0. Sometimes the guys can start believing the hype and not fully play to that. They're learning though and they're doing a good job. We'll be okay and we'll bounce back."
Zarko Ubiparip led the Gryphons offensively with 22 points. Also finishing in double-digits in points were Jonathan Pickett (12.5) and Jakson Paterson (12). Gideon Dresser finished with 31 assists to lead Guelph, while Ben Kissack had a team high 12 digs.
Looking ahead, the Gryphons will try to turn the page on Saturday's defeat as they get set to visit the Brock Badgers in a week's time. First serve in St. Catharines is scheduled for 8:00pm on November 23.
