Friday, November 7th saw the Niagara College men's volleyball program (1-2) enter the win column in a big way via an impressive 3-1 road victory over the Redeemer Royals. The set scores in the match were 25-21, 22-25, 25-16, 25-21.
Redeemer is known across the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association for their loud and passionate home crowd, and Friday Knight was no different as the "pack the shack" hashtag held true with a capacity crowd on hand to watch two of the premier men's volleyball programs in the province lock horns.
Niagara College men's volleyball head coach Nathan Groenveld called the victory a "great team win in a fantastic environment."
The Knights had struggled in their first two games of the regular season. After capturing the tournament championship at the Seneca Invitational on October 18th, the team dropped their first two league games of 2014-15 against the St. Clair Saints and Mohawk Mountaineers.
During Friday night's victory over Redeemer, the Knights displayed the talent and competition level that those familiar with the program have grown accustomed to over the last two years, a span that has seen the Knights cruise to an overall record of 28-8.
"Tonight was a great team win and every man on the team brought great energy and we came out with a hard fought victory" said Knights' outside hitter Nathan Snippe (St. Anns, ON).
Snippe had his best game in a Knights uniform finishing with a match-high 17 points on 12 kills, four blocks, and an ace. Snippe stands at over six-foot-seven, and lines up as an outside hitter for the Knights. He is currently in his second year with the men's volleyball program after spending the 2012-13 season with the Windsor Lancers.
Snippe was named Niagara College SAC athlete of the Week for his performance against the Royals.
"We got key contributions from every member of our team tonight. Our size won us the net battle and gave us some separation. The guys did a great job playing at a high level for the entire match, something that Redeemer could not match for sustained periods of time" added Coach Groenveld.
The Knights field their biggest team in recent memory, and Friday's game reflected that on the score sheet.
Towering middle blocker Aaron Vanderlugt (Burlington) controlled the net for the Knights against his former team finishing with a game high five blocks, while Brantford's Logan Varga contributed three. Overall the Knights out blocked the Royals 17 to 10 in the match.
In his first start of the season, rookie outside hitter Jeremy Williams (Whitby) showed why he was one of the top recruits in the province, finishing with 15 points. Vanderlugt finished 14, and team captain Jeff Scott (Georgetown) rounded out the Knights attack with 10 points on seven kills, two aces, and a block.
The Knights will look to continue their winning ways on Saturday, November 15th when the team hosts the Cambrian Golden Shield at 8:00pm at the Welland Campus athletic centre.
