2024-25 Season Preview: Gryphons Women’s Volleyball

GUELPH, Ont. – A new season of OUA women’s volleyball officially begins on Friday night (Oct. 25) for the Guelph Gryphons, as they host the Waterloo Warriors in their 2024-25 season opener. The OUA women’s volleyball regular season will once again be 20 games, with 15 teams in one division. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the playoff format will see the top eight teams qualify for the postseason. Following the Gryphons season opener on Friday night, the Gryphons will return to the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre court once again 24 hours later to once agains host the Warriors on Saturday night (Oct. 26).
 
The Gryphons see the return of several key players in 2024-25, led by OUA First Team All-Star setter, Alexa Shields. Shields, a fourth-year standout from Aurora, Ontario, quickly established herself as one of the premier setters in the province, leading the conference with 643 assists during the 2023-24 season while also recording 201 digs (7th in OUA). Fellow OUA All-Star, Briar Crerar, returns to the Gryphon lineup as one of the team’s top attackers. The psychology major who plays on the left side had 189 kills (10th in OUA) and scored 220.5 points (11th in OUA) in her impressive 2023-24 season. Mia Miskovic (Ancaster, ON) is back with the team at middle blocker after an impressive first season in Guelph where she had 135 kills, scoring 196 points and led the team with 32 service aces and 29 blocks. Hailey Holland (Burlington, ON) returns for her third season on the right side after finishing with last season 123 kills.
 
Nikina Bear-Lowen heads into her second year with the Gryphons and is poised to take on an expanded role in the middle during the 2024-25 campaign. The biological sciences major from Constance Lake First Nation, Ontario will look to build off a solid first season with the team where she had 37 kills and 22 blocks. Jordan Vang (Kitchener, ON) comes to Guelph as a grad transfer and should contribute to the Gryphon attack immediately. Sloane Fortin, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter from Burlington, is entering her first year with the Gryphons and could contribute right away as a rookie. The Gryphons libero duo of Peyton King and Sydney Simonson are both back with the team as part of one of the top defensive units in the conference, averaging 13.84 digs-per-set (4th in OUA) as a whole.
 
The Gryphons women’s volleyball team will look to return to the playoffs for a second consecutive season as they open their season at home against the Waterloo Warriors in a weekend doubleheader. The Gryphons will then head on the road the following week as they head to London to take on the Western Mustangs (Nov 1 & 2). Tickets to the Gryphons season-opener on Friday night (Oct. 25), and all regular season home games, are available online at gryphons.ca/tickets, with all home and away games also being streamed at www.oua.tv.