KINGSTON, Ont. (November 21, 2015)- The Queen's Gaels men's volleyball team extended its winning streak to six games on Saturday afternoon at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC), defeating the Guelph Gryphons 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-20).
 
Marko Dakic (Mississauga, Ont.) recorded a game-high 12 points, and garnered a hitting efficiency of .611 in helping the Gaels improve to 7-1 in the regular season. Chris Brunet (Calgary, Alta.) picked up nine kills, and Mike Tomlinson added five kills and two solo blocks for Queen's, while Joshua Green topped the Gryphons (1-6) with seven kills in a losing cause.
 
GAME FLOW
The Gaels jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first set, but the Gryphons found their footing and made up some of the deficit, putting together a 9-5 run that was capped with an ace from Zachary Newman, which brought them within three points of the lead.
 
The hosts railed off three-straight points coming out of the technical timeout, including a block from Jamie Wright (Kingston), which quickly prompted a timeout from Gryphons coach Cal Wigston. The Gaels, however, maintained their momentum throughout the conclusion of the first, taking the opening set 25-17.
 
The teams exchanged points early in the second set, but the home side pulled in front with four-straight points, including a solo block from Tomlinson, to take a 12-8 lead. Another kill from the Stratford, Ont. native moments later capped off a run in which the men picked up nine of a possible 11 points.
 
The streak seemed to deflate the Gryphons, who committed a number of unforced errors on their serve and at the net down the stretch. The Gaels offence, meanwhile, continued to roll forward, helping the hosts to a second set victory.
 
Guelph came out charging in the third, jumping out to a 6-2 lead after a serve from Conan Mickey clipped the net and found the open court. After a Queen's timeout, a long rally in which the Gaels played some excellent defence, twice denying the Gryphons the point, ended with a Brunet kill that brought the ARC crowd back to life. A big stuff soon after from Tyler Scheerhorn (Belleville, Ont.) brought the Gaels within two.
 

MUST SEE - MVB - Gaels keep the rally going as everyone gets in on the action before Brunet finishes the point. pic.twitter.com/jJNUffCYvR

— Queen's Gaels (@queensgaels) November 21, 2015

 
Queen's continued to surge, picking up five points in a row to take a 16-14 lead at the technical timeout. More great defence from the Gaels coming out of the break halted a stuttered Gryphon offence, pushing the host's lead up to three. The visitors responded with a small burst to tie the set, but two straight kills from Dakic and another stuff by Scheerhorn consolidated the Gael spread. Two consecutive errors from the Gryphons clinched the final set and match for Queen's.
 
The Gaels have a strong hold on second-place in the OUA standings, just a single game back of the McMaster Marauders, who are undefeated heading into their match against Windsor later on Saturday.  
 
FINAL SAY
"One of the things we've been really good at all season was managing errors and making good decisions," said Head Coach Brenda Willis. "I thought this wasn't our best game for doing that, we made more errors than we have been. But what I really like was how composed we stayed despite those mistakes. Our energy was a bit flat in the third, but after going down 6-2, we were able to play with more urgency and not allow (Guelph) to dictate the play."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
30- The number of set assists by Jamie Wright
40- The total number of kills by Queen's, compared to 29 from Guelph
21- Errors committed by the Gryphons offence, while the Gaels committed six
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels conclude their regular season schedule before the holiday break next weekend at the ARC, when they host McMaster and Waterloo on Friday and Saturday respectively. Both games are set to begin at 8:00 p.m.