GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons women’s volleyball team captured their 11th win of the 2023-24 season Saturday night (Jan. 27) in a five set thriller over the Windsor Lancers. The Gryphons came back from trailing 2-1 to earn the win and improve to 11-3 on the season while the Lancers fall to 2-12. The win also marked a sweep of the U of G team’s double-header with the Lancers, after they defeated Windsor 3-1 Friday evening (Jan. 26).
The Gryphons were led by a trio of second-year student-athletes on Saturday night, in Hailey Holland, Briar Crerar, and Mia Miskovic who all surpassed the 10-point mark on the night. Outside hitter Crecar led the group, and the game, with 20.5 points after recording 16 kills and 3.5 blocks. Holland totaled 17 points with a .444 hitting percentage which included the fifth set game-winning kill. Finally, Miskovic finished the game with 12 points and 11 kills while also adding a service ace. Third-year setter Alexa Shields led the match with 46 kill assists while picking up 9.5 points of her own.
After the Gryphons took an early lead with a 26-24 opening set win, the Lancers would stun the Gryphons with strong scoring runs in the late stages of the second and third sets, taking a 2-1 lead. The fourth set featured a convincing 25-19 win from the home team as they looked to avoid a four-set loss and spark a comeback. The final frame of the game featured a tense back-and-forth that saw the lead change five times. Finding themselves down 19-18, Gryphon outside hitters Briar Crerar and Hailey Holland came up with a pair of kills which, added to a Lancer error, would complete the comeback for a 3-2 U of G victory.
The Gryphons (11-3) currently sit in 4th-place in the conference standings with six games remaining of the regular season schedule. Their next matchup comes next weekend in North Bay, ON, where they will take on the Nipissing Lakers in back-to-back matches.