The York University Lions women's volleyball team looked to move to 2-0 on the young season as they battled the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday evening at the Guelph Gryphons Athletic Centre.
York opened the match strong, taking an early 2–0 lead off a Quinn McTavish kill and a Brooke Davis ace. The teams traded leads throughout a high-energy opening set. York held a 16–15 edge following a joint block by Alexis Miller and Davis, but Guelph answered with a 4–0 to run anchored by Yaisa Sealy kills to go up 18-16 and force a York timeout. Despite late kills from Kianna Drewniak, Julia Typa, and Victoria Herrington, Guelph's Ainsley Preszcator closed out the frame 25–22 to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
The second set remained competitive early, tied at 9–9 following back-to-back Gryphon attack errors. However, after York took a 12-11 lead, Guelph created separation behind strong net play from Lexi Nicholson-Clarke and Alessia Pereira, mounting a 9–1 run to extend their lead to 19–13. York substituted Hailey Lisik and Payton Dougherty to spark the attack, with Dougherty putting down a kill to make it 20–16, but the Gryphons stood firm, using key kills from Preszcator and Pereira to claim the set 25–19.
Guelph jumped out to an early 10–4 lead in the third set following an ace by Preszcator, putting York in serious jeopardy of being swept. The Lions, though, didn't go down without a fight, and, down 17-10, mounted a late rally. Herrington scored an ace, and Miller delivered back-to-back aces of her own to force a Guelph timeout with the score 20-15. Out of the break, Preszcator re-established momentum for the hosts. York erased two match points with kills from McTavish and Typa, but a final York attack error sealed the set 25–19 and completed the sweep for Guelph.
LOOKING AHEAD:Â
The Lions will now enjoy their first of two bye weeks on the season and return to action on Friday, Nov. 13 as they welcome the RMC Paladins to the Tait McKenzie Centre for their home opener. The first of the two-game weekend set goes at 6:00 p.m. You can get your tickets at yorkulins.ca/tickets or watch the game live on OUA TV.
