GUELPH, Ont. – The U SPORTS No. 8-ranked Guelph Gryphons men’s volleyball team hosted the Windsor Lancers Friday night (Jan. 26) at the Gryphons Athletics Centre, falling to the Lancers in five sets. With the loss the Gryphons fall to 12-3 on the season while Lancers improve to 9-4.
The Gryphon offence was led by a pair of outside hitters in Jonathan Pickett and Alexander Odle who both met the 20-point mark on the night. Pickett recorded a team-high 20.5 points with 19 while Odle totaled 20 points thanks to 18 kills and a pair of solo blocks with a .467 hitting percentage. Setter Thomas Pugsley led the team in kill assists with 42 while also picking up 4 points.
The Gryphons and Lancers opened up Friday’s match with tightly-contested first set which saw neither team able to score more than two points in a row. Despite the back-and-forth, the Gryphons were able to capture the early lead and close out the first frame 25-22. After falling in the first set the Lancers got off to a hot start in the second, opening with a 5-2 run. The Gryphons would respond with a scoring run of their own however and take a 9-6 lead before the two teams settled into the set. The Gryphons were ultimately able to edge out the visiting team and take a 2-0 lead with a 25-23 set win. In the third, the Lancers were finally able to break through and went on a 5-2 run to cut the U of G lead to 2-1. After another slow start for the Gryphons in the first, they were able to cut the lead to two early but the Lancer offence would take over, taking the set 25-18 to force a winner-take-all fifth set.
The fifth set saw another back-and-forth set with each team trading blows until the Lancers took an 11-8 lead late in the set. Following a Gryphon timeout, the Lancers would close out the game with a 4-3 run.
The Gryphons (12-3) will take on the Lancers for the second time in as many days, with another matchup tomorrow (Jan. 27) set for 6pm back at the GGAC. Tomorrow’s game will also serve as the Gryphons ‘Alumni Day’ celebration. Tickets are available at gryphons.ca/tickets.
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