WATERLOO, Ont. – It was a big ask to go on the road and knock off the OUA's two best teams in a brutal back-to-back. While the Guelph Gryphons women's volleyball team showed grit and flashes of excellence this weekend, the dream of a postseason berth took a hit. Guelph won the first set but ultimately fell 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 14-25 and 23-25) to the OUA West-leading Waterloo Warriors at the PAC Sunday afternoon.
 
The Gryphons were in need of wins to put pressure on the division's fourth-place team McMaster, especially after losing 3-1 to the OUA East leaders Ryerson in Toronto Saturday.
 
The Gryphons appeared poised to send it to a fifth when an Ally Proulx kill put them within two points of a fourth-set win. Guelph appeared to go up 24-23 when a Waterloo kill attempt went long but the official called a touch on the Gryphons. The Warriors' Sarah Glynn ended it with a kill on the next point.
 
Michaela Hellinga carried the offence with 20 kills, while libero Tara Tanasijevic had 18 digs. Setter Alex Curran registered 36 assists.
 
The first set was back and forth early until Guelph began to pull away with leads of 17-11 and 19-13. But the Warriors put together a 4-0 run make it close again. Waterloo would get within one at 24-23 but Hellinga intelligently tipped the ball over the Warriors' blockers to secure a 1-0 lead.
 
The hosts led by as many as 10 in the second set and though Guelph closed the gap, an attack error handed the second set to Waterloo 25-18. It was unfortunately more of the same in the third as the Warriors turned around a 10-8 deficit to take 17 of the final 21 points, capped by a pair of Gryphon errors.
 
Guelph had a tough time generating consistent offence and hit just .092 on the day.
 
The Marauders defeated York 3-0 Sunday afternoon, meaning Guelph will need to win its last three matches and McMaster lose all three, including their meeting next Friday at the GGAC, to have a chance at fourth place. The Gryphons will also have to beat the Marauders in less than five sets to win any potential tiebreaker. 
 
Gryphon Take
"Consistency from set to set has not been there. It's not one or two individuals but more of a group thing. And we don't know the cause. We played pretty well in the first set and followed the game plan.  But it was the same thing as last night against Ryerson, where we gave up four or five points in a row and had to play from behind. And in the third set, the wheels fell off the bus when we were up three and then went down 10. The girls rebounded in the fourth set and we got off to a better start. We battled and made it tight. It was just that our execution of some basic skills was inconsistent today. We'll keep fighting." – head coach Paul Funk 
 
The Record
Guelph is 7-9 
 
Next up
McMaster, Friday, Feb. 16, 6 pm @ Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre Senior Night