GUELPH, Ont. – On Saturday night (Nov. 26) at the Gryphon Athletic Centre the U SPORTS No. 10-ranked Guelph Gryphons men's volleyball team improved to 6-1 on the season with a thrilling 3-2 win over the visiting York Lions. The Gryphons came into Saturday looking to pick up their 6^th win of the season and 5^th straight victory. In what was a hard-fought, thrilling game the Gryphons came out on top thanks to multiple impressive performances.
 
The game opened with the York Lions getting off to a fast start, quickly building a 9-point lead and holding onto to it to take the first set 25-14 in dominant fashion. The second set saw a back-and-forth affair where both teams held leads but were unable to hold them for very long. After the visiting Lions would within one and make the score 15-14 the Gryphons would take over, outscoring York 10-4 to take the second set and tie the match 1-1.
 
The third set saw each team go on strong runs and, at times, taking multiple point leads before the opposing team would respond with a run of scores of their own. The Gryphons took at 24-18 lead late in the set, but the Lions would respond with a 5-point run to pull within one. The Gryphons would take the set 25-23 thanks to a service error to find themselves leading 2-1 and needing one more set to win. The fourth set was nearly identical to third, with both the Gryphons and Lions going on scoring runs that where it seemed like they would run away with it. In the end, the Lions would take the set and send the game to a fifth, winner-take-all set.
 
After playing to a narrow 8-7 lead the Gryphons would jump out in front 13-10, needing just two points to win the game. After the Lions would tie the game at 13 the Gryphons earn a point from a service error and then Jacob Bailey would end the game with his 8^th block of the game.
 
The Gryphons were led by all-Canadian talent and standout hitter, Jonathan Pickett. Pickett finished the game accounting for 24 of the Gryphons 71 points, which included a team-high 19 kills, 4 service aces, and a block. Another Gryphon with an impressive performance was Cameron Chadwick. A 6-foot-4 left-side hitter, Chadwick recorded 16 kills and block for 17 total points. The Gryphons were once again anchored by Jack Richards, who totalled 29 kill assists on Saturday night.
 
The Gryphons (6-1) will look to continue their winning streak next weekend when they head to Toronto for back-to-back games against the Toronto Metropolitan Bold. The games are set for Friday (Dec. 2) and Saturday (Dec. 3) and can be viewed live at www.oua.tv.