GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons women’s volleyball team suffered their first loss of the 2023-24 season on Friday night in Guelph, following a straight sets defeat at the hands of the No. 6-ranked McMaster Marauders. Set scores were 19-25, 26-28 & 16-25 in favour of McMaster, in a matchup of two of the top teams in the OUA West Division. It marks the first loss of the season for the Gryphons, who entered Friday night’s action with a perfect 5-0 record. The Marauders meanwhile, who in March will serve as hosts of the 2024 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championships, continue their strong start to the 2023-24 season and improve to 6-1 on the season.
After the Marauders took the opening set 25-19, the Gryphons responded with some strong play in tightly-contested 2nd set, which saw the Gryphons take a 19-16 lead after back-to-back kills from Sophia Kalbfleisch and an ace from Hailey Holland. But the visiting Marauders were able to come out on top of some extended rallies late in the set to regain the lead, before sealing the 2nd set with an ace to take a commanding lead. The Gryphons were unable to claw back from the early hole, with McMaster taking the 3rd set 25-16. Sophia Kalbfleisch and Briar Crerar both finished with 8 kills for the Gryphons, who will now prepare to face the No. 6-nationally ranked Marauders again for a second time in a 24-hour span. The Gryphons and Marauders will square off on Saturday night (Dec. 2) at the Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre, with game time set for 6pm in what will be the final game of the winter semester for both teams before entering the exam/Christmas break.
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