The top seed from the OUA West, the Guelph Gryphons women's volleyball team heads into the OUA Final Four women's provincial tournament this weekend with a solid team. The OUA Final Four, sponsored by Mikasa Sports will take place Feb. 22-23  at the University of Toronto's Athletic Centre Sports Gym.
 
The Gryphons (14-5) will face off against the defending champion Ottawa Gee-Gees (14-5) in a semifinal on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The host University of Toronto Varsity Blues (15-4) will play the first semi-final against McMaster (13-6)  on Saturday at 12:00 p.m.
 
The semifinal winners will earn their ticket to the 2014 CIS championship, February 28-March 2, hosted by the University of Regina, and will face each other for the OUA title on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The bronze medal match will precede it at noon.
 
"We're happy to be participating in the Final Four with such a young group as it will provide valuable experience for our team," said Gryphon head coach Paul Funk. "When you are one win away from a berth for the CIS Nationals, you have to bring a high level of effort and execution to reach that goal."
 
The Ottawa Gee-Gees finished in a three-way tie for second in the OUA East with a 14-5 record, and wound up as the third seed. That didn't stop the powerhouses from the nation's capital as they upset the second-seeded York Lions, 3-0, in quarter-final action. Twin sisters and Gee-Gees standouts Kelsie and Myriam English led the OUA with 4.12 and 4.75 points per set in the regular season, while also topping the league with 43 aces each.
 
"Ottawa is an athletic, experienced team and we will have to be able to pass well against their aggressive serving and defend well to deal with their fast pace of play," commented Funk.
 
The OUA West top seeded Gryphons earned their spot at the Final Four following a 3-0 rout over the Lakehead Thunderwolves. The Gryphons are led by first-year left side hitter Madison DeDecker  who ranked seventh in the OUA with 3.07 kills per set and was recently named the OUA West rookie of the year. Fourth-year middle Alicia Combe-Dingwall topped all players in the province with 60.5 blocks this season.
 
The Gryphons will need to defend well against the high powered Gee Gees who finished first in the country in service aces and will look to none other than OUA West libero of the year Kristen Almhjell to lead the charge. The second-year was a leader in the Gryphons' backcourt, posting 300 digs for an impressive 4.17 digs per set, ranking her second in OUA and in the nation's top 10.
 
The Gee-Gees defeated the Gryphons 3-0 in their lone meeting of 2013-14 on Nov. 16 in Guelph.
 
The Final Four will also be webcasted live on GoBlues.tv.