Friday, November 30th saw the Niagara College Men's Volleyball Program (5-3) lose for the first time in three weeks, as the team visited the 7-2 Redeemer Royals. The set scores were 17-25, 25-19, 25-15, 16-25, and 15-13.
Friday night's contest saw the two hottest teams in the OCAA compete for sole possession of second place in the West Division in front of a packed Redeemer gymnasium.
Niagara College Head Coach Nathan Greonveld called the game "incredibly close. It could have gone either way. Their home crowd was really into it, and we came up just a little short." The Royals are known across the OCAA for their boisterous and high energy home crowds.
The Knights stormed out of the gate early, soundly defeating the Royals in the opening set. Coach Groenveld attributed his team's early success to a strong service game anchored by first year outside hitters Ben Fillmore and Jeff Scott, who finished the match with three service aces each.
The Royals rallied in sets two and three employing a strong team defense, and led offensively by David Klomps who finished the game with 22 offensive points.
The Knights' offense once again came to life in set four, led by fifth year outside hitter Shayne Petrusma. Petrusma finished the game with 26 offensive points. The strong game moved the six-foot-six Burlington native into the OCAA West Division lead in points-per-set with 4.2 and kills-per-set with 3.46.
The fifth and deciding set was incredibly close, and the narrow 15-13 victory by the Royals came as a result of a few key defensive stuff blocks. The Royals out blocked the Knights 13 to nine in the match.
Coach Groenveld commented "the Royals are a fantastic team, and I'm looking forward to meeting them again on February 1st when they come and play in our gym."
The Knights have just one game remaining before the team breaks for the holidays. Tuesday December 4th, will see the team visit the 5-3 Mohawk Mountaineers.
Coach Groenveld feels the Mohawk game "will be another hard fought match, with both teams looking to bounce back from tough losses and gain momentum going into the break."
The Knights will return to the Welland campus athletic centre in 2013 when the team hosts the annual Niagara College Invitational Men's Volleyball tournament January 4-5th.