The Niagara Knights women's (5-2, 5th OCAA West) and men's (4-3, 6th OCAA West) volleyball programs travelled to take on the Sheridan Bruins on Sunday.
The women's matchup had four incredibly close sets, as the Bruins would win the first set 25-20 before the Knights would storm back and win the next three sets (25-23, 25-22, 25-23) to earn themselves their fourth straight victory, this one finishing 3-1.
"The last three sets were a complete team effort for us," said Knights women's volleyball coach Natasha Spaling. "Everyone did their job and contributed exactly what they needed to do. The athletes executed our game plan extremely well, which was a real show of their dedication to preparing for this match."
On the men's side, they played a back and forth match that was extremely close at all times. After winning the first set 31-29, the Knights would drop the next two sets, both by a score of 25-23, and find themselves down 2-1. They would rally, however, and win the fourth set 25-23 to force a match-deciding fifth set. Exactly like their last match against the Redeemer Royals, the Knights would go on and win the fifth set by a score of 15-12. The win was their fourth straight, a timely streak that came after an 0-3 start to the season.
Jordan Koslowski (Hamilton) had 18 kills in the win which accounted for 18 of her 23 total points. She also had three service aces and two blocks.
Kelsey Soules (Hamilton) had an impressive game registering 13 points including seven kills and five blocks.
Melissa McFadden (Hannon), the Knights second-year setter, played all four sets and was impressive setting up her teammates all night long, earning 37 assists in the win.
For the men, Robert Zalewski (Ingersoll) had a spectacular defensive match as the second-year libero had 16 digs in the win, earning himself the Niagara Knights' Male Athlete of the Week honours.
Micah Nieuwets (St. Catharines), Elijah Bugiardini (Hamilton) and Jaydon Milne (Toronto) all had double-digit kills for the Knights.
The Knights will host the Humber Hawks on Thursday, November 29th at the Welland Campus Athletic Centre. The women's matchup is set to begin at 6pm while the men will play 30 minutes after the conclusion of the women's game.
After that, both programs will travel to Windsor to take on the St. Clair Saints on December 1st, their final matchups before the mid-season break.
