The No. 7 nationally ranked York University Lions women's volleyball team defeated the Guelph Gryphons in straight sets on Saturday (Oct. 25) in Guelph, Ont.
 
The Lions won 25-17 in the first set, 25-20 in the second and 25-23 in the third.
 
The Gryphons took an early lead in the first set with kills by Shannon Morelli and Rebecca Breau. After committing a series of errors, the Gryphons fell behind the attacks of Brittney Hopley (Thornhill, Ont.), Aleks Arsovic (Burlington, Ont.), Michelle Pierce (Windsor, Ont.), and Veneta Mincheva (Gatineau, Que.), giving the Lions an eight-point lead and eventually the win.
 
The Gryphons opened up the second set through a series of service errors, but kills by Abby Ganzhorn (Markham, Ont.) put the Lions back into the lead. The set was a tight game with points added one by one from each side. Eventually, the Lions ended the set with a five-point advantage.
 
The third set was tied throughout until the very end, when kills by Pierce and Hopley gave the Lions a two-point advantage.
 
Hopely played an excellent game with a total of 11 kills, three aces and four blocks. Other leaders from the Lions' included Pierce with nine kills and two service aces, and Ganzhorn with eight kills, one ace and one block.
 
Leaders from the Gryphons included Madison Dedecker with seven kills and one ace, Breau with six kills and two blocks and Morelli with four kills, one ace and one block.
 
The Lions are now in first place in the OUA East standings with a three-time winning streak. Up next for the Lions is a home game against the Brock Badgers on Friday (Oct. 31) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.