The Gryphon men's volleyball team met up with the Waterloo Warriors tonight (Dec. 2) for the first time this season. After a complete shift of control in the game, the Warriors over-took the Gryphons 3-2. Set scores were 25-13, 25-21, 21-25, 10-25, and 13-15.

With the loss, the Gryphons drop to 6-2 while the Warriors advance to 4-5.

The CIS #10 Guelph Gryphons dominated the first set and looked comfortable on the court. Winston Rosser (Whitby, ON), Marc Wilson (Stratford, ON) and Andrew Whitaker (Sharon, ON) all contributed great performances against the Warriors. The Gryphons quickly built a significant lead over Waterloo and carried out an easy win, finishing 25-13.

The Gryphons entered the second set confident with the early success, but soon began struggling to keep the Warriors at bay. The score went up point by point mid-way through the set, but the Gryphons eventually took off and built another lead over Waterloo. At one point in the set, the Gryphons were ahead 21-16, but the Warriors managed to catch up at the crucial point in the match. Wilson took the second with a block, finishing off a close set.

A shift in control and power on the court occurred in set three. Waterloo came in strong and determined, and led in points through most of the match. Warrior outside hitters James Evans (Rockwood, ON) and Fiodar Kazhamiaka (Waterloo, ON) wreaked havoc on Gryphon defence. Guelph had difficulty responding to the attacks and the set ended 21-25 in the Warriors' favour.

A defensive break down plagued the Gryphons in the fourth. Many of Waterloo attacks hit the floor with no response from defence and rebounds were left untouched. The Warriors began building a significant lead and despite a number of kills from Wilson and Whitaker, Waterloo continued to dominate. Once the Warriors were over 10 points ahead of the Gryphons, three Guelph rookies were subbed onto the court to play out to the end, which finished a discouraging 10-25.

The fifth set was an intense match between the two teams. The Gryphons came in with more confidence and they won a crucial rally between the two teams after Whitaker shut it down. The Warriors led for the beginning of the set but the Gryphons were soon trailing by only one or two points. It looked like Guelph was going to over-take Waterloo near the end, but the Warriors pushed hard and took it for a close 13-15 finish. The game finished a disappointing 2-3 - the first loss for the Gryphons after a five game winning streak.

The Gryphons were led by Rosser with 12 kills, 1 ace and 3 digs, along with Wilson who contributed 12 kills and 2 digs. The Warriors were led by Kazhamiaka with an impressive 21 kill record, as well as Evans who contributed 16 kills, and 11 digs.

The Gryphons take on the Western Mustangs next, in London tomorrow night (Dec. 3). The game begins 8:00 p.m.