The Niagara Knights men's volleyball program (14-3, 2nd OCAA West) guaranteed themselves at least second place and a berth in the OCAA Championships by defeating the Conestoga Condors (5-12, 7th OCAA West) by a score of 3-1 (25-26, 25-26, 23-25, 25-22) on Friday night. In their final home game as Knights it was Nathan Snippe (St. Anns) and Steve Stone (St. Catharines) who shone the brightest.
Snippe hammered the Condors constantly throughout the evening, recording 17 kills and four blocks for 21 points. He also added nine digs on the defensive side of the ball. Alongside Snippe, it was Steve Stone who ran an incredible offense. Stone, the Knights all-time assists leader added to his total with 39 assists while helping three separate players reach double digits. He also added seven digs and a kill to round out the evening.
Alongside the powerful performances from the graduating players, Jeff Scott (Georgetown) scored 13 kills while Cole Jordan (London) contributed 10. After limited action in the past couple games due to injury, Sameh Khodr (Lebanon) added 10 digs on the defensive side of the ball.
With the victory the Knights have now secured at least second place in the OCAA West division. As such, they have locked up a first round playoff bye and a trip to the OCAA Championships at Seneca College on February 25-27. Niagara is looking to win back-to-back OCAA titles for the first time since their titles in 2000 and 2001.
Niagara will now wrap up the regular season on the road February 13th against the Sheridan Bruins (12-5, 3rd OCAA West).
