TORONTO, Ont. - Waking up Saturday morning with an opportunity to medal at the OUA Women's Volleyball Championships, the Guelph Gryphons were all business in Toronto. Looking to rebound from a tough loss to the Brock Badgers a day prior, the Gryphons showed tremendous fortitude and resiliency in a 3-1 (25-14, 24-26, 25-22, 25-17) win over the Western Mustangs.
Taking the game to the team from London right from the very beginning, the Gryphons set an early tone. Grabbing the lead and never looking back, Guelph rolled to a 25-14 opening set victory over Western.
However, despite the one-sided nature of the first set, the second set wound up being the exact opposite. As the Gryphons looked to take a 2-0 lead, and the Mustangs tried to equalize the match 1-1, both teams exchanged blow after blow. With Guelph and Western either tied or just separated by a single point for much of the second set, they sat tied 23-23 late. 
Unfortunately for the Gryphs, Western would take three of the next four points and win the set 26-24.
All tied up 1-1, the Gryphons looked to get back to their game. Off to a great start having built a 16-11 lead at the third set technical time-out, Guelph further extended their advantage to 19-13. Although the Gryphs continued to hold the lead, the Mustangs did their best to fight back. Getting the gap narrowed to three, Western pulled within 24-21, but the Gryphons were able lockdown the set shortly after with a 25-22 victory.
Sitting just one set away from winning their first OUA medal since 2011, nothing was going to stop the Gryphons. Starting the fourth set with a strong 8-2 run, Guelph managed to get themselves in a great spot. Up 16-12 at the technical, the Gryphons began to pull away. Extending their lead to 21-14, the Gryphons went on to finish the final set, winning 25-17.
Jade Ziebarth paced the Gryphon's offence, racking up a game-high 14 points off of 12 kills, one block and one ace. Third-year left side hitter Ally Proulx had 8.5 points off of six kills, 1.5 blocks and one ace on the day.
Fourth-year setter Alex Curran tallied 27 assists and 22 digs, while third-year libero Tara Tanasijevic led all players with 27 digs in the win.
