GUELPH, Ont. - Although the Guelph Gryphon's two varsity volleyball clubs finished with different records, in different spots in their divisions, and one being a women's team and the other a men's squad, there is one similarity between the two as they prepare to begin their respective OUA playoff runs this weekend. Both teams will be prepping to take on the Ryerson Rams in the quarter-finals.

With one team playing their quarter-final match-up at home, and the other on the road, both squads will hit the court on Saturday looking to punch their ticket to their respective OUA Final Four.
 

Men's Volleyball
OUA Quarter-final
Saturday, Feb. 29 - 1pm
Ryerson @ Guelph 

Women's Volleyball
OUA Quarter-final
Saturday, Feb. 29 - 2pm
Guelph @ Ryerson
 

First to get underway on Saturday will be the Gryphon men's team. Coming off a regular season that saw them go 11-6 and finish 2nd in the OUA West division, the Gryphons will welcome Ryerson to the GGAC for a 1:00pm match. After narrowly missing out on the Final Four last season with a heartbreaking 5-set quarter-final loss to the Queen's Gaels, the Gryphons, now back in the playoffs are ready and poised to make a deep run.

"We've got some great leaders on this team and it all starts with our captain Jakson Paterson," said Gryphon's head coach Cal Wigston. "On and off the court, Paterson has been a great leader. Then we got guys like Ben Kissack and Oliver Hissink who compete hard and practice hard every day. Those guys were also on our 2017 OUA bronze medal team so they'll bring that experience with them."

For the Gryphons to be able to make any type of run in the OUA playoffs, they will have to pass a very stiff test right out of the gate with the Rams coming to town. Ryerson finished their regular season with an 11-7 season which locked them in as the OUA East division's 3rd-seed. Boasting arguably the best offensive threat in the province, the Gryphons will have to find a way to deal with Ram's outside hitter Xander Ketrzysnki. Averaging an incredible 4.43 kills per set, Ketrzysnki led the conference by a wide margin. He also led the OUA in service aces per set averaging 0.54.

"(Ketrzysnki) is one of those guys that you can't fully stop and can only hope to contain him," Wigston said. "He is going to get his kills. Xander is a special player."

Fortunately for the Gryphons, they have a tremendous weapon on their roster to try and compensate for the power of Ketrzysnki. Ben Kissack led the province this season in both digs and digs per set with 169 total digs and 2.64 per set, and will serve as an important piece in Guelph's game plan on defence. At the net, the Gryphs will also look to lean on Jakson Paterson, who once again proved this season to be a major force in the middle. Averaging 0.95 blocks per set, Paterson finished 5th in the OUA in the category and will also serve a major role in trying to slow down the Ryerson attack.

Taking a look at their own offence, the Gryphons are full of talent up front. 3rd-year left side Zarko Ubiparip has had a strong year powering the Gryphon's attack. Meanwhile, Guelph's offence also features powerful hitters Oliver Hissink, Jonathan Pickett, Matthew Baxter, Jakson Paterson and Arjun Selhi to name a few.

In their only regular season meeting this year, the Gryphons downed Ryerson 3-0 (25-13, 25-22, 25-21) back in November. That victory capped off a five game winning streak for the Gryphons to start their 2019-20 campaign. However, Coach Wigston when referring to that match made a note that both teams were short-handed with Hissink not playing for Guelph and 4th-year outside hitter Taryq Sani not being available for the Rams. Now with both rosters fully ready to go, the two teams will both have their best available when they collide in Guelph with their seasons on the line.

First serve from the GGAC is set for 1:00 Saturday afternoon.

Just one hour after the men get their match underway, the Gryphon women's team will take to the court in hopes of finding their way through to the OUA Final Four. In the opposite situation of their male counterparts, the women will be on the road to take on the Ryerson Rams in Toronto. 

Winners of six of their last seven matches to close out the regular season, the Gryphons went on an impressive run to not only work their way in to the playoff picture, but move up to 3rd in the OUA West division. Improving their record by four wins from last year to this year, Guelph finished the regular season with a 12-7 record. Their opponents on the other hand finished the season with a 16-3 record to place 2nd in the OUA East.

Despite the solid resume that the Ryerson Rams have put together through the 2019-20 campaign, Guelph still found themselves going toe-to-toe with with the No. 4-nationally ranked team in their only regular season meeting on November 8. Taking the Rams to a full five sets, the Gryphons ultimately fell in the hard fought match 3-2 (16-25, 25-13, 21-25, 26-24, 11-15). Of Ryerson's 15 other regular season wins, only three other times were the Rams forced to go the distance like they were against Guelph. Although it is a big challenge in front of them, the Gryphons proved that they are more than capable of hanging with the top teams in the OUA all season long.

"The girls know that we are the underdogs heading in to the match and that we are going to have to play our best to beat Ryerson," said Gryphon's head coach Paul Funk. "Mentally though, we are in a very good place right now. A couple of years ago the Rams handled us in the quarter-finals, but we are more experienced now and feeling good about it."

Trying to crack a very difficult Ryerson defence, the Gryphons will look to execute their first pass which will allow themselves to run their full offence. With how well the Rams are able to dig the ball and keep rallies alive, the first pass becomes that much more crucial to set up their middle attack and keep Ryerson off balance. If the Gryphs are able to use the middle of the court, they feature when of the most consistent hitters in the province at that spot. This season, Lisa Wedel finished 4th in the OUA in hitting percentage converting at a rate of .307.

Further helping the Gryphons to the success they have experienced this season have been a pair of key pieces. Transferring to the University of Guelph for her final year of eligibility, Jade Ziebarth has been everything the Gryphons could ask for and more. With her tremendous leadership on and off the court, Ziebarth led Guelph in kills per set with 2.87. Meanwhile, setting her up for those attacks this year has been Alex Curran. A 4th-year setter out of Aurora, Ontario, Curran has continued to once again demonstrate her talent this season. Finishing 4th in the OUA in assists per set with 8.75, Curran has been as reliable as they come taking the second touch and spreading the ball around to the Gryphon hitters.

Looking to pick up the upset victory and claim their first spot in the OUA Final Four since the 2014-15 season, the Gryphons will need everyone on their team firing on all cylinders, something Funk thinks this team is primed for. 

"We're feeling pretty good," he said. "This past month we have been a very tough team to play against, and we'll look to continue that on Saturday."