GUELPH, Ont. - On Friday night (Jan. 6) the Guelph Gryphons women's volleyball team returned to the court for the first time in the new year. The Gryphons hosted the Waterloo Warriors in their first match since December 3rd, a 3-1 loss to the TMU Bold in Toronto. The Gryphons came into their first match of 2023 with a 3-7 record looking to flip the script on their season and begin their push towards the OUA playoffs.
The match opened with the Warriors quickly building a 5-1 lead over the Gryphons. Although the two teams would trade scoring runs the Warriors would not surrender the lead, ultimately taking the first set 25-17. The second set saw a similar result with the Warriors going on a 7-0 run after the Gryphons opened the set up 3-0. A Gryphon timeout would slow down the Warrior momentum and get te Gryphons back in the game.
Despite finding themselves down 20-13 the Gryphons would find their next gear, going on a 10-3 run to tie the game at 23 apiece. The Gryphon run was highlighted by their 19th point, a rally that lasted over 1:15 and ended with a
Maya Morabito kill. The Warriors would end up taking the set 25-23 in the matches most tightly-contested period.
In the 3rd set the Gryphons would open with their best start of the night a 6-2 to take the lead. Despite their best start the Warriors would keep the set close and end up tying the game at 23 points before the Gryphons would take their first set of the night 26-24. In the 4th set both teams would go on significant scoring runs with the Gryphons able to maintain a lead for much of the period. Late in the fourth the Warriors would tie the game at 23 before the Gryphons would pull out the win 25-23. In the 5th set the Warriors would jump out to a 6-2 lead before going on an 11-2 run to take the set and game.
The Gryphons came into the match with the Warriors without their team-leading scorer and the OUA's 5th leading scorer in
Sophie Fernback, who was out with injury. Despite being without Fernback the Gryphons received a number of impressive performances on the night with 4 Gryphons accounting for double-digit points. The Guelph attack was led by
Samantha Ingleton who had 13 kills and 4 blocks while accounting for 18 of the Gryphons points. Ingleton was followed by Morabito who finished the match with 12 kills and 3 blocks for 15 points. Finally, both
Briar Crerar and
Jaymie Stephenson each had 10 points.
The Gryphons will look to bounce back Saturday when they make the trip to Toronto to take on the U of T Varsity Blues. The match is set for 6pm at the Goldring Centre Kimel Family Field House.
