The Guelph Gryphons men's volleyball team defeated the visiting Toronto Varsity Blues in nail-biting OUA action as they topped the Blues 3-2.  Set scores were 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 18-25, 15-12.  The win puts the Gryphons at a 2-6 record while also dropping the Blues to 2-6.
 
Leading the Gryphon attack were Andrew Whitaker (Sharon, Ont) and Winston Rosser (Whitby, Ont) who tallied 14 kills apiece.  Kevin Carey (Grande Prairie, Alta) was also instrumental to the cumulative Gryphon attack by rallying 41 assists on the night to top the Gryphon support.
 
The Varsity Blues' charge was headed by Mitchell Woodside (Clyde River, P.E.I) who raked in the game-high 20 kills on the night.  In an effort to keep the Gryphons at bay, Michael Denton (Scarborough, Ont) established his presence in the backcourt to rally 48 assists on the night.
 
The first set got off to a promising start for the Gryphons following a Varsity Blues serving fault.  Yet despite the early Toronto mishap, the first set became a close, drawn out affair with neither team able to establish a controlling lead.  Yet a crucial kill from Whitaker reignited the Gryphons' momentum to rally a comeback to tie the game up at 17 after falling behind 16-11.  With three consecutive kills from Ryan Killeen (Oakville, Ont) the Gryphons were able to pull ahead 23-22 where Carey was able to nail the service ace to take the first set at 25-23.
 
Drew Whitaker opened the second set with an explosive spike to set the Gryphon tempo.  Followed by several early Toronto mishaps, the Gryphons found themselves in a commanding 7-4 lead.  With the help of Phil Wessel (Cambridge, Ont) and Marc Wilson's (Stratford, Ont) dominance at the net, the Gryphons were able to maintain a consistent lead on the Blues to round out the second at 25-23.
 
For the first time of the night, the Varsity Blues were able to establish an early presence as they mounted the board with a quick 2-0 lead in the third.  This lead became destined to switch hands throughout the remainder of the set, but Mitchell Woodside was able to reign in the lead in the later stages of the set to run away with a 25-22 win to keep Toronto's game alive.
 
Once again, the Varsity Blues took control with an early 5-0 lead to quell the Gryphon momentum in the fourth.  Despite strong offensive efforts by Phillip Wessel and rookie Timothy Warnholtz (Guelph, Ont) the Blues were able to extend their lead to eight going into the technical timeout.  Following the timeout, the Gryphons were able to gather in their defensive front to piece together a six-point streak to close the gap to five.  And, with a service ace from Warnholtz, the game was set at 20-16 but Toronto was able to hold off the Gryphon comeback to send the game to five with a 25-18 win in the fourth.
 
Drawing from their previous success in the first and second sets, the Gryphons came out strong in the fifth by establishing their presence with an early 2-0 lead.  With this lead, the Gryphons were able to stay just out of Toronto's reach as the teams battled for sporadic control of the tempo to end the night.  But with Wilson's domineering prowess at the net, he was able to rake in three consecutive kills to close an evenly-matched night with a 15-12 win in the fifth set.
 
This win marks the second of the season, and the first of a double header weekend with the Gryphons looking to replicate tonight's success tomorrow (Nov 24) against the Ryerson Rams.  The game is set to start at 8:00 pm at the W.F. Mitchell Centre.