GUELPH, Ont. – On Friday night (Jan. 19) at the Guelph Gryphons Athletic Centre, the University of Guelph women’s volleyball team suffered just their third loss of the season in a five set thriller against the U of T Varsity Blues. With the loss the Gryphons move to 9-3 on the season and slide to 4th-place in the OUA standings while the Varsity Blues improve to 7-6 and hold their spot as the 8th seed in the conference standings.
The Gryphon effort was led by second-year middle blocker Mia Miskovic, who totaled a team-high 17.5 points thanks to her 14 kills, 3 assisted blocks, and 2 service aces. The 6-foot Ancaster native also led the team in hitting percentage where she converted nearly half her attacks for a mark of .480. Three other Gryphons reached double-digit points in the match, with 2022-23 All-Rookie Briar Crerar finishing second on the team with 12 points followed by Samantha Ingleton with 11.5 and Sophia Kalbfleisch with 10. Third-year management economics and finance major Alexa Shields produced another strong performance at the setter position, recording 48 kill assist to go along with 9 points.
After falling to the Varsity Blues 25-15 in the opening set the Gryphons would respond well, playing to a 27-25 win in a back-and-forth second frame. The third set saw another tightly-contested affair take place, with neither team able to produce more than a four-point scoring run. A late surge from the Gryphons after Toronto tied the game, led to another high-scoring set win for the Gryphons as they took it 26-24. After the Varsity Blues built a 5-point advantage to open the fourth, the Gryphons were unable to cut into the deficit and would see Toronto tie the game at two sets apiece. In the fifth set the Varsity Blues came out carrying momentum from the fourth and took a 9-4 advantage before a timeout sparked a 6-2 scoring run to cut the lead to a single point. Unfourtunately that would be all the scoring the Gryphons would do, falling in the fifth set 15-10.
The Gryphons (9-3) will return to action next weekend when the host a doubleheader against the Windsor Lancers on Friday (Jan. 26) and Saturday night (Jan. 27). Friday’s match is scheduled for 6pm whiel Saturday’s Alumni Day game is set for 4pm. Tickets for both matches are available live, online at gryphons.ca/tickets.
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