2023-24 Season Preview: Gryphon Men’s Volleyball

GUELPH, Ont. – Friday night (Nov. 3, 2023) the Guelph Gryphons men’s volleyball team is set to officially open their 2023-24 OUA regular season schedule, as they head to Waterloo for a pair of matches against the Waterloo Warriors. 20 games await 13 schools from across the province as they compete for one of the nine playoff spots available. This year the OUA postseason see’s the addition of an opening-round play-in game between the 8th and 9th seeded teams for the right to take on the No. 1-seed in the quarterfinal round. The play-in game is set for Wednesday, February 21, 2024 with the playoffs beginning for the other 7 postseason teams on February 24. The Gryphons will take on the Warriors twice to open up the season before taking on the Nipissing Lakers on November 10 in their 2023-24 home opener. 

“We are very excited to get the season underway,” says head coach Cal Wigston, who enters his 18th season in charge of the University of Guelph men’s volleyball program. “The strength of our team is experience this season as we have a very veteran team full of upper-year student-athletes. With this team we are looking to get back to the playoffs after missing out last season. With so much parity in the OUA now, for us to return to the postseason we are going to need to perform each and every night. I am confident in this team and cannot wait to see them compete this season.”

The 2023-24 edition of the Gryphons is loaded with talent, headlined by All-Canadian talent Jonathan Pickett who returns for his fourth season of eligibility. Last season, the Gryphons were without Pickett for the majority of the second half of season, with the outside hitter missing time with an injury. The 6-foot-6 Wiarton native still led the OUA in several key statistical categories including hitting percentage (.285, 5th in the OUA), service aces per set (0.39, 6th in the OUA), kills per set (3.31, 7th in the OUA), and points per set (4.0, 7th in the OUA) despite appearing in just 13 games. Through his first three seasons of OUA men’s volleyball action, Pickett has been named an OUA West First Team All-Star on three occasions, while also being named OUA West Rookie of the Year during his freshman season in 2019-20. Pickett also enters the season coming off of another impressive ‘off-season’ of beach volleyball, where he won gold alongside his brother and Gryphon teammate Daniel Pickett, representing the University of Guelph at the 2023 University & College Beach Volleyball Nationals. Also returning from injury to help the Gryphon attack from the left side is third-year Cameron Chadwick. Chadwick enters his second season with the Gryphons after transferring from Georgian College. In 12 matches last season Chadwick showed flashes of impressive play, including two 17 point performances in the final matches of the winter semester. In the offseason Chadwick also represented the Gryphons at the 2023 University & College Beach Volleyball Nationals, achieving a second-place finish. Also on the left side for the Gryphons is Guelph native Braeden Sears, with the mechanical engineering major having shown the ability to make a big impact in the U of G lineup. 

On the right side the Gryphons welcome back Jacob Schweyer who has shown great improvement since joining the Gryphons. The 6-foot-7 Sudbury native scored the third-most points for the Gryphons last season while posting the conferences 11th best hitting percentage (.256). In the middle, the Gryphons are  led by Joshua Glasbergen and Jacob Bailey who both enter their third seasons with the U of G men’s volleyball program. Both Glasbergen and Bailey finished last season in the top 10 among OUA competition in solo blocks with 20 (8th in the OUA) and 25 (3rd in the OUA) respectively. Glasbergen, a 6-foot-6 Burlington native, had a career year in 2022-23, bringing his point total from 67.5 the year before to 96.5 after seeing his matches played double. For Bailey, a 6-foot-7 London native, he saw his sets played increase by 39 which was also reflected in his point total, hitting 100 for the first time in his Gryphon career. Olds College transfer Thomas Pugsley takes over at setter for the Gryphons in 2023-24. The Foot Hills, Alberta native has already impressed through preseason action, showcasing his experience at the position

After Friday and Saturday’s season-opening doubleheader against Waterloo, the Gryphons will return home next weekend (Nov. 10) to host the Nipissing Lakers in their 2023-24 hom opener. The Gryphons season-opener along with all their regular season games will be avialble live online at www.oua.tv. Tickets for all of the Gryphons home game are available at gryphons.ca/tickets.