The Niagara Knights men's volleyball program (0-1, 5th OCAA West) dropped their season opener on the road to the Fanshawe Falcons (1-0, 2nd OCAA West). It was a slow start that ultimately doomed the Knights, who lost a tight contest 3-2 (22-25, 16-25, 25-21, 25-21, 8-15). 

Niagara got off to a slow start against the defending OCAA Champions, falling in each of the match's first two sets to go down 2-0 early in the contest. However, the Knights would respond admirably in the third and fourth sets, forcing a fifth and final set. Fanshawe would take the final set, riding a .500 kill percentage to pull away and clinch the match. 

"I was proud of our response after going down 2-0," said Head Coach Nathan Groenveld. "We stuck to our process, made some tactical adjustments and got ourselves back into the match." He went on to add, "Although it was not the result we would have liked, we believe the takeaways from playing a 5-set, road match, against one of the country's top teams will pay dividends down the road."

2015-16 All-Canadian Jeff Scott (Georgetown) was a leader throughout the evening, recording a game high 21 kills. Marcus Francis (Pickering) also contributed 14 kills in his debut in a Knights uniform. Garrett Suderman (Nivervile, MB) chipped in a game high 43 assists, providing good opportunities to score all night for Niagara. 

The Knights will now hit the road and visit the St. Clair Saints (1-0, 2nd OCAA West) in Windsor on Sunday, October 30th. Niagara will return to the Welland Campus Athletic Centre on November 4th for their home opener against the Mohawk Mountaineers. Tickets for all home games can be purchased at the door for $5.00 while students and those under the age of 17 are admitted free.