MVB: Gryphons Seeded No. 8 at 2024 U SPORTS Men’s Volleyball Championship; Guelph to Face Top-seeded Sherbrooke in National Quarterfinals Thursday Night (March 14) in Kingston

TORONTO, Ont. — The Guelph Gryphons men’s volleyball team is off to nationals for the first time in 36 years. And they will get a crack at the top-ranked team in the country on Thursday night in the U SPORTS quarterfinals.
 
On Sunday evening (March 10), the U SPORTS office announced the seedings and matchups for the upcoming 2024 U SPORTS Men’s Volleyball Championships (March 14-17 in Kingston). The Guelph Gryphons, fresh off their victory over Brock on Saturday night in the OUA bronze medal game, will head to the national championship tournament as the No. 8-seed in the eight-team field. The Gryphons will take on the undefeated, No. 1-ranked Sherbrooke Vert & Or, on Thursday night (March 14) at Queen’s University’s ARC Gymnasium.
 
Tickets for the event are currently on sale on the U SPORTS website with the game broadcast live on CBC Sports digital platforms.

U SPORTS Championship website

Queen’s Gaels Championship landing page

The complete field, in seeding order, is as follows:

1. Sherbrooke Vert & Or (RSEQ champions, 16-0 regular season, 4-0 playoffs)
    
2. Alberta Golden Bears (CW champions, 18-6, 5-1)
    
3. McMaster Marauders (OUA champions, 16-4, 3-0)
    
4. Trinity Western Spartans (CW finalists: 16-8, 4-2)
    
5. Queen’s Gaels (OUA finalists, 15-5, 2-1)
    
6. UBC Thunderbirds (CW bronze medallists, 16-8, 3-2)
    
7. Laval Rouge et Or (RSEQ finalists, 10-6, 2-2)
    
8. Guelph Gryphons (OUA bronze medallists, 15-5, 2-1)

The Gryphons men’s volleyball team is making their first appearance at a national championship tournament since the 1987-88 season, thanks to an outstanding 2023-24 campaign. During the regular season, the Gryphons set a program-record with 15 wins (15-5 record) and booked their spot at nationals by winning Saturday night’s OUA bronze medal game at Brock. The Gryphons will now turn their attention to the Quebec-champion, Sherbrooke Vert & Or, who had an undefeated run through the RSEQ regular season and playoffs, are the top seed heading into the 2024 U SPORTS Men’s Volleyball Championship. The eight participating teams are seeded with the requirements that conference playoff results be respected, that conference champions be seeded no lower than No. 6, that the top two teams from each conference are on opposite sides of the draw and to avoid conference matchups as much as possible.
 
The quarterfinals will be played on Thursday, March 14 as follows: (all times Eastern)

• Noon: No. 7 Laval vs. No. 2 Alberta
• 2 p.m.: No. 6 UBC vs. No. 3 McMaster
• 6 p.m.: No. 4 Trinity Western at No. 5 Queen’s
• 8 p.m.: No. 8 Guelph vs. No. 1 Sherbrooke

 
The semifinals will take place on Friday, March 15 at 6 and 8 p.m., with the consolation games set for 4 and 6 p.m on Saturday. On Sunday, the fifth-place game is set for 1 p.m., with the bronze medal game following at 3 p.m. and the championship game at 7 p.m.
 
All 11 games from the event will be broadcast live on CBC Sports digital platforms in English. In French, the games will be carried on Radio Canada’s digital platforms (French). The full schedule will be available throughout the tournament at usports.ca/en/broadcast.