On February 15, the 2014-15 OCAA regular season will come to an end and the Niagara College men's volleyball (11-6, 5th West) program will be headed to the playoffs. The Knights sit in fifth place in the ultra-competitive OCAA West, however only two points separate Niagara and the second place St. Clair Saints (12-4). With so many variables unknown and outcomes to wait and see, predicting the final playoff spot for the Knights is a challenging task.
"We just need to go out and take care of business; factors we can control", said head coach Nathan Groenveld. "If we do this, everything else will work itself out."
With the Saints coming to town Sunday, the Knights will need to continue their impressive play of late to pull off another upset this season. Niagara has won six of their last seven matches and are an impressive 7-1 in front of the home crowd at the Welland Campus Athletic Centre.
To begin the season, Niagara went on the road to face St. Clair and lost in straight sets 3-0 – 18-25, 21-25, 14-25. Third year outside hitter Ben Fillmore (Cayuga) led the Knights with nine points while Jason Hernandez recorded 11 points for the Saints.
St. Clair has also been impressive as of late, as they have won six of their last seven matches as well. The Saints have to play Mohawk College (16-1, 1st West) on February 14 before heading to Niagara for their showdown the next day.
This match features some of the best setters and liberos in the province, creating matchups to watch within the game. Second year libero Bailey Cochrane (Barrie) leads the OCAA in digs per set with 4.14 while St. Clair's Josh Rankine is third, with 3.09. Fourth year setter Steve Stone (St. Catharines) ranks second in the province with 9.73 assists per set, while Jean-Marc Lappan from St. Clair is ranked third with 9.11. Stone trails Mohawk's Mark Kaveckas by 0.03 assists per set, for the OCAA lead.
