Wednesday, October 16th saw the Niagara College men's volleyball program make their 2013-14 home court debut at the Welland Campus Athletic Centre. The Knights defeated the visiting Durham Lords in exhibition play by a score of three sets to one.
With both teams primarily utilizing the younger players on their rosters, the future of both programs seems bright as the two teams contested a hard fought matchup.
After the game Knights' head coach Nathan Groenveld commented "our young players battled and got a taste of how a hard fought victory feels. As a team we are learning things every time we step on the court and we are continuing to grow as a group.
The Lords opened the match strong winning the first set led first-year middle Petrus Kuypers and fourth-year outside hitter Jeremy Hoekstra.
In sets two, three, and four however, the Knights seemed to find their rhythm and captured the victory.
The Knights lineup consisted of first-year players Bailey Cochrane (Barrie) at libero, outside hitter Cole Palma (Ashburn), setter James Clendenning (Sudbury), and middle Travis Waite (St. Thomas). The four first-year players on the court were joined by returning second-year players Logan Varga (Brantford), Ben Fillmore (Cayuga), and second-year University of Windsor transfer Nathan Snippe (St. Anns).
Snippe, a graduate of Smithville District Christian High School, received praise from Coach Groenveld after the match. "Nathan was a force offensively, coming up with big kill after big kill. As a young team leadership will be key in our development and tonight Nathan led by example and played with some great emotion."
The Knights will face a quick turnaround as the team will wrap up their 2013 pre-season at the annual Seneca Invitational tournament being held October 18th and 19th.
The Knights will open the 2013-14 regular season October 26th when the team visits the Boreal Vipers in Sudbury.
In the women's match the Niagara College women's volleyball program suffered a tough loss three sets to two. The set scores for the match were 25-20, 25-27, 25-17, 23-25, 15-13.
After the match, Knights' head coach Joey martins commented "we played fairly well tonight. The girls worked hard, and took a top team in Durham to a fifth set."
The Knights were led offensively by rookie five-foot-nine outside hitter Madison Morgan. The Whitby, Ontario native recorded ten kills, five service aces, and a stuff block in the contest. Morgan competed for the Durham Region Volleyball Club before joining the Knights.
The women's volleyball program will face a quick turnaround as the team with serve as hosts of the annual Niagara College Invitational Tournament on October 19th and 20th.
Heading into the event Coach Martins commented "this weekend's tournament is going to be tough. Humber and Fanshawe will be there, and those are two top teams. It will be a good experience for the team."
The Knights first match is set for 9:00 am on Saturday October 19th when the team faces the Canadore Panthers. Admission to the tournament is free.
