Box Score
 
Guelph 3, Nipissing 1
 
Guelph, Ont. (January 17, 2014) - The Guelph Gryphon's men's volleyball team defeated the visiting Nipissing Lakers 3-1 on Friday night. Set scores were 20-25, 25-21, 26-24 and 25-22. The win improves the Gryphon's record to 5-8 on the season.
 
Marc Wilson led the Gryphon's in scoring with 13 points (10 kills, 3 blocks). Patrick Strzalkowski chipped in with 12 points (9 kills, 2 aces, 1 block).
 
Frankie Edgecombe led the Nipissing Lakers in offense with 20 points (14 kills, 2 aces, 4 blocks).
 
The first set opened with plenty of back and forth scoring keeping things close. A massive smash from Guelph's Luke Woud tied things up at five and capped off three straight points for the Gryphon's. The back and forth play continued for much of the set with neither side capable of capturing and maintaining the lead or momentum. Another great play by the 6'8" Guelph monster Luke Woud, this time a block, evened up the score at 18. Guelph's Marc Wilson also chipped in with several key blocks in the set. However despite these efforts, the Lakers finally managed to pull ahead 20-18, and eventually took the set 25-20.
 
In the second set Guelph jumped out to an early 6-2 lead. They would maintain this edge for the greater part of the set. Nipissing started to push back, but Guelph maintained their poise. Rafael Leite made several nice plays in the set to keep Guelph's lead, including a few athletic digs to set up Guelph smashes. A massive block from Marc Wilson followed by a smart tip by Kyle Richards gave Guelph the final two points of the set to even the match up at one set apiece. Guelph took the set 25-21.
 
The third set was another very even affair between the Gryphon's and the Lakers. Back to back points from Marc Wilson tied the set up early, 3-3. Guelph then took the next four points, taking the lead 7-3. Nipissing battled back from the deficit, eventually taking the lead, 16-15. However Guelph did not let this slip phase them, as they re-took the lead 20-17. Up 24-21 Guelph allowed Nipissing to tie the set up at 24, but again Guelph was not scared, as they eventually took the set 26-24 off another smart play by Kyle Richards.
 
With a 2-1 set lead over the Lakers, Guelph was hoping to secure the match in the fourth set.  Once again, back and forth scoring seemed to be the story in this set, with Guelph eventually taking a 10-7 lead. Yet another block from Marc Wilson made it 12-9 for the Gryphon's.  Strong play from Kyle Richards and Luke Woud helped keep Guelph's lead safe. Back to back kills from Luke Woud and Patrick Strzalkowski gave Guelph a two-point edge, 18-16. The Lakers did make things interesting at the end, tying things up at 21. However, a Connor Cressman block gave Guelph the lead right back, which they would not surrender again. Rafael Leite finished off the Lakers with a tricky serve that could not be handled, giving Guelph the fourth and final set, 25-22.
 
The Gryphon's play again tomorrow night at home against the York Lions at 8 pm.