HAMILTON, ON - The University of Guelph women's volleyball team advanced to the finals of the McMaster Thanksgiving Classic preseason tournament with a 3-2 win over the Ryerson Rams Friday afternoon in Hamilton. Set scores were 25-20, 18-25, 25-18, 21-25 & 15-12. 

The first set began with neither team gaining a big advantage until the Gryphons led by 3 at the technical timeout. Guelph expanded the lead to 21-13 but Ryerson drew to within 4 late. The Gryphons found their rythym again to win 25-20. Set 2 saw an 8 point Ryerson run in the middle of the set that was the deciding factor in a 25-18 Rams win. The third set was close throughout but leading 20-18, the Gryphons went on a 5-0 run to finish a 25-18 win. Set 4 saw Guelph lead by 4 early on but Ryerson clawed their way back to tie and then used a 5 point run of their own to win the set 25-21. The fifth set was close with Ryerson leading 8-7 at the switch but a 5 point run later gave the Gryphons the lead and they closed out the match winning 15-12.

Gryphons head coach Paul Funk stated, "This is the second year in a row that we've played really well against Ryerson in this tournament. We had our streaks of good and bad today but I thought our crew responded well late to get the win." Guelph now advances to the tournament final against the host McMaster Marauders on Saturday afternoon with a 1pm start.