GUELPH, Ont. - The University of Guelph Gryphons men's volleyball team returned to the court at the Gryphon Athletic Centre on Friday night (Jan. 13) to host the Western Mustangs for the second time in the last week, with their match last Friday (Jan. 6) ending in a 3-1 Gryphon win. The Gryphons came into the match looking to bounce back after a hard-fought, straight set loss to the U of T Varsity Blues on Saturday (Jan. 7). After a slow start the Gryphons would find their rhythm and pick up their 8th win of the season 3-2 (15-25, 28-26, 16-25, 26-24, 15-12) against the Mustangs. 

After a slow start to the opening set the Gryphons quickly found themselves trailing the visiting Mustangs 5-1. Despite gaining some momentum and pulling to within 3 points midway through the set the Gryphons would be unable to overcome their early deficit and the Mustangs would take the first set 25-15. The Gryphons would respond well and treat the Gryphon fans in attendance to an incredibly entertaining back-and-forth set with the Mustangs. The second set saw neither team lead by any more than three points and unable to score back-to-back more than a few times. The Gryphons second set effort was led by Gryphon standout hitter Jonathan Pickett, who recorded 5 kills and 6 points in the second set to help the Gryphons to a 28-26 set win. Pickett would go on to finish the game with 13 total kills, a service ace, and a block for 15 points. 

The third set of the match saw the Western mustangs return to their first set form. Despite a good start to the set the Gryphons would fall behind are the midway point after allowing a Western run which would make it 15-9. After that point the Gryphons would score consecutive points once and visiting Mustangs would take. 2-1 set lead with a 10-7 run to close out the third frame. The fourth set of the match once again returned to the hard-fought style of play the Gryphons had played in the 2nd set as well as last week against the Gryphons. The set came down to wire once again, this time with Gryphon captain Arjun Selhi leading the team to a narrow victory. Selhi had 5 of his team-high 15 kills in the fourth set to help the Gryphons to send the match to a fifth set. In fifth and final set the Gryphons would control the game after a 2-2 tie and go on to lead the remainder of the period, ultimately taking it 15-12 for the win. 

In addition to Pickett and Selhi, the Gryphons also received impressive performances from 2nd-year right-side hitter Jacob Schweyer. Schweyer added 9 kills and 3 blocks to his already impressive season in the win. Middle blocker Jacob Bailey also had a strong game, coming up with 6 kills and 4 solo blocks, with the majority of his points comign in the final two sets that helped seal the win for the Gryphons. Finally, setter Jack Richards added 39 more kill assists to his season total, where he currently ranks 5th in the OUA with 283 assists before tonights match. 

The Gryphons (8-4) will be back in action next Saturday (Jan. 21) when they head to Waterloo for a match with the Waterloo Warriors. The game is set for 8pm, following the match between the Gryphon women and the Warriors, and can be seen live, online at www.oua.tv.