GUELPH, Ont. – The U SPORTS No. 10-ranked Gryphons men’s volleyball team tied a University of Guelph program record for wins in a regular season Friday night (Feb. 16) at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre with a straight sets victory over the TMU Bold. The record had stood for seven years after being set by the 2016-17 edition of the Gryphons men’s volleyball team. With the win the U of G team improves to 14-5 on the season and officially clinches the right to host an OUA quarterfinal game in the opening round of the 2024 Forsyth Cup playoffs. The Bold meanwhile, who had previosuly been eliminated from playoff contention, drop to 5-14. The set scores in the Gryphon victory were 25-22, 25-17, and 25-19.
After playing a tightly-contested opening set, the Gryphons would pull to within striking distance of an early lead thanks to a 4-0 run which led to a 22-18 advantage over the visiting team. Despite a strong effort from TMU to avoid an early deficit, kills from Jacob Bailey, Joshua Glasbergen, and Thomas Pugsley would officially capture a 25-22 first set win. The second set would see the U of G squad slowly build a a narrow advantage before a scoring run of 6-1 led to a convincing 25-17 second set victory. In the third, and ultimately final, set the Gryphons were clicking on all cylinders, jumping out to a commanding 19-9 lead in no time. Despite their best efforts the Gryphon lead would prove to be too much to overcome for the visiting team, officially leading to a 3-0 victory for the Gryphons.
The Gryphons were led by a quartet of players who reached double-digit point totals Friday night, with graduating senior Jonathan Pickett and third-year outside hitter Blake Brand leading the way with 13 points each. for Pickett, it marked the 17th time this season in which the Wiarton, Ontario product has surpassed double-digits and also move him up to 4th in the OUA in total points. Also earning 10+ points was middle blocker and environmental science major Joshua Glasbergen, who recorded 8 kills and 3 blocks for a total of 11 points. Finally, Alexander Odle, who recently surpassed the 100-point mark for the first time in his career, finished the match with 10 points thanks to 9 kills and a solo block.
The Gryphons (14-5) will take on the TMU Bold in the second match of their two-game set tomorrow night, with the game also serving as the regular season finale and the 2023-24 senior night celebration. Tickets are available online at gryphons.ca/tickets, with the game also available on oua.tv for those fans who are unable to attend.
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