The Windsor Lancers dropped a tough match 3-2 (25-17, 21-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-12) to the Guelph Gryphons Saturday night at the Dennis Fairall Fieldhouse.
 
The Lancers showed fight in forcing a fifth set after losing two straight. The blue and gold came up short in the fifth, dropping the Lancers to 2-2 on the season.
 
GAME STATS
Nolan Langley led the game in assists with 38 on the night. The Gryphons were led by Gideon Dresser who had 35 on the night.
 
Guelph's Matthew Baxter led the game in kills with 15 and Windsor was led by Brad Gyemi who had 13 kills.
 
GAME FLOW
Things started close between the Gryphons and the Lancers, tied at 3-3 with virtually no separation between the two squads. However, Gyemi got the Lancers going with an ace in his first service stint, sparking a run that forced the Gryphons into a timeout down 10-5. Coming out of the timeout the Gryphons closed the gap a little, but the Lancers were still in good shape heading towards the technical up 13-9. After the Lancers had the lead at the technical, they came out of the break looking just as strong, relying on the strong play of Sean Spencer to take the first set 25-17, going up 1-0 over the Gryphons.
 
The second set started much as the first did, tight and competitive. The Lancers earned some separation early but couldn't get too much of a lead, up just 8-7 early. The Windsor momentum didn't last though as the Gryphons overtook the Lancers and forced them into a timeout down 13-12. The timeout did little to stem Guelph's momentum as they quickly took the set into a technical timeout, up 16-13. Out of the break the problems continued for the Lancers as they called a timeout down 18-13. The Lancers played the Gryphons tough but couldn't seem to get ahead, dropping the set 25-21 to tie the match at one each.
 
Guelph rocketed out to a 3-0 lead to start the third set, but Gyemi ended the run at three to keep the Lancers within striking distance. The Lancers struggled though to get it over the Guelph blockers as the Gryphons defended extremely well in the third set, leading 10-3. The blue and gold went on an incredible run, capped off by a Nolan Langley ace to take the lead into the technical, 16-15. Coming out of timeout, the Gryphons and Lancers went back and forth, tied at 20. The tension grew as both teams approached set point, Lancers leading 23-22. Unfortunately for the Lancers they were unable to close out the set, losing 25-23 to fall behind 2-1 in the match.
 
The fourth set was a strong start for the home team, who opened a slim lead early and maintained their lead for the first time over a prolonged time. First year player Luca Nastase gave the Lancers a major boost coming off the bench, scoring on a block to help the Lancers lead 16-15 at the technical timeout. Out of the technical, the Lancers kept their foot down, scoring the next two points as well, forcing the Gryphons into a timeout down 18-15. Despite the Gryphons making it close, Roland Bouchard's stint at ther service line sealed it for the Lancers, forcing a fifth set after a 25-21 win.
 
The fifth set was all Gryphons early as they jumped out an 8-5 lead halfway through the set. Out of the switch, the Gryphons added two more points forcing the Lancers to take a timeout and change things up.  Unfortunately, the Lancers didn't get the changes they were looking for, being forced into another timeout down 7-12.
 
UP NEXT
The Lancers head to Waterloo to take on the Warriors on Saturday, November 16th at 2:00pm on www.OUA.tv.