Guelph, ON - The comeback was not to be Friday night as the Western Mustangs held on to defeat the Gryphons Men's Volleyball team 25-22, 25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 15-11. After dropping the first two sets, the Gryphons showed great character to fight back and force a fifth set before falling just short in the comeback bid. With the loss, the Gryphons fall to 0-3 on the season while Western improves to 2-1.
  The Gryphons got off to a slow start as they saw the Mustangs jump out to a quick 4-0 lead to start the match before the hosts called a timeout. The Gryphons were able to re-group and get back into form as Western held a slim 23-22 lead late in the opening set. A crucial long rally would then end with a Mustangs point as they would take the first set 25-22.
 

The second set was not much different from the first set as there was little separating the teams. The key point in the set was another long rally with the Mustangs up 11-9 as Western took a very important point as it propelled them to a 9-4 run that saw the lead expand to 20-13. The Gryphons got within 4 when the score got to 22-18 but that was as close as they would get as the Mustangs won the set 25-20 and a two sets to love lead.
 

The hosts would start to mount the comeback in the third set as there was no separation between both teams. The largest lead in a seesaw set was two before the Gryphons rang up two vital points back-to-back to extend their lead to three and win the set 25-22 to extend the match.
 

The fourth set saw several runs from both teams. The Gryphs got off to a strong start as led 10-6 but the Mustangs started their charge after a long rally saw floater finding some real estate. With the Gryphons up 12-10 in the set, the pivotal points of the set came off a Mustangs rally that started with two very important digs in back-to-back points that kick started a 7-1 run where they led 17-13. The Gryphons wouldn't let Western the run continue as they stormed back with three straight points to cut the lead to one. With the Gryphons leading 23-22, a timely block by Josh Green saw the hosts go up by two and eventual win the set 25-23 two points later to tie it up at two sets apiece going into the deciding fifth set with all the momentum.
 

Momentum can flip in an instant as the Mustangs started off the fifth set with a bang going up 3-0 and 5-1. The Gryphons shook off the sluggish start to the set and got within two as the 9-6 serve appears to stay in according to refs as it looked like the hosts were about to mount another comeback and steal this match. But the early 5-1 deficit was too much for the Guelph to overcome as Western comes away victorious with winning the fifth set 15-11.
 

Green with 14 kills and Zach Newman's 12 kills led the way for the Gryphons as Dallas Keith led the hosts in digs with 14.
 

The Gryphons will be back on the court looking for their first win against the Windsor Lancers tomorrow night at 8 p.m.