Gryphon men swept in their return to national tourney
KINGSTON – The eighth-ranked Guelph Gryphons were swept by the top-ranked Sherbrooke Vert et Or in their return to the U Sports national university men’s volleyball championship tournament Thursday at the Queen’s Athletic Recreation Complex gymnasium.
Sherbrooke won 25-23, 25-15, 25-17 in Guelph’s first national championship tournament game since they hosted the event in 1988.
Each of Thursday’s winners will play for a medal Sunday while the other four teams fall into the consolation round.
The first set was a back-and-forth affair with the Gryphs ahead by as many as three points midway through the set. It ended in controversy as the Gryphs thought they’d tied the score 24-24, but the referees ruled that a Gryphon had touched the ball before it went out of bounds on a Sherbrooke slam, giving the Vert et Or the set win.
The Gryphs never led the second set after scoring its first points and they trailed throughout the third set.
Jonathan Pickett had 12 kills, an ace, a block and six digs for the Gryphs while Cameron Chadwick had six kills, a block, three digs and two assists and Alexander Odle had five kills, two blocks, four digs and an assist. Joshua Glasbergen had four kills, three blocks and an assist, Jacob Bailey had four kills, a block and a dig, Thomas Pugsley had a kill, two blocks, two digs and 26 assists, Daniel Pickett had seven digs and Jack Richards had two assists.
Category leaders for Sherbrooke were Yoan David with 12 kills, Julien Vanier with four blocks, Gregoire Mercier-Noe with six digs and Jonathan Portelance with 26 assists. Portelance, David, Mercier-Noe, Zachary Hollands and Vanier each had an ace.
Guelph had 32 kills, an ace, six blocks, 32 assists, 23 digs and a .197 kill percentage while Sherbrooke had 38 kills, five aces, eight blocks, 35 assists, 21 digs and a .400 kill percentage.
The Gryphs are to play the Trinity Western Spartans in a consolation semifinal Saturday at 6 p.m. at Queen’s.
- Guelph Sports Journal