Wednesday, November 22nd saw the Niagara Knights men's volleyball program fall to 4-2 on the season after being defeated three sets to one on the road by the Humber Hawks (5-2). The set scores in the contest were 25-27, 25-18, 25-17, 25-19.
"We lost a tough 3-1 road match to Humber, which is always a tough place to play" said Niagara Knights men's volleyball head coach Nathan Groenveld. "We knew heading into the match that Humber had two great outside hitters, and I thought we did a good job managing them, but in the end we just didn't have enough offense to take advantage when we had the chances."
An injury to veteran offensive catalyst Mitch Sawatsky forced the Knights to shuffle their lineup and start four rookies in the match. The youngsters responded well taking a hard fought first set 27-25. The team seemed to fall off after the opening frame, unable to string together runs of points required to beat a talented Humber side.
"I'm proud of the way our team fought, but with our youth we just don't have the experience base right now to play at that high a level all night. Humber out attacked us in volume, kills and percentage and that was a huge difference in the match" added Groenveld.
Rookie libero Robbie Zalewski (Ingersoll) proved to be the Knights best player in the contest, keeping rallies alive, and giving the Knights a major boost in the passing game. Zalewski finished with a team high seven digs in the contest.
The Knights now sit in a tie for third place in the crowded OCAA West Division. The team has two key matches remaining before heading into the mid-season break. They will host the Sheridan Bruins (2-3) on Saturday, November 25th at 3:00pm before wrapping up 2017 at home against the Redeemer Royals (4-2) on November 30th.