One of the hottest programs in the OCAA continued their recent dominance as the Niagara Knights men's volleyball program (11-5, 3rd OCAA West) had a perfect week against the Mohawk Mountaineers and the St. Clair Saints.
In the first match of the week, the Knights hosted Mohawk for the NC Let's Talk matches for Bell Let's Talk Day. In front of their home fans, the Knights did not disappoint as they worked their way to a 3-0 victory (25-18, 25-18, 25-21).
In their second matchup of the weekend, the Knights would make quick work of the St. Clair Saints, dominating from the beginning of the first set. The Saints managed just nine points in the first set as they struggled to return any of the Knights' attacks. The match would finish 3-0 (25-9, 25-12, 25-17) in favour of the home team.
The Knights rebounded from their loss against Fanshawe by taking down both of their opponents this weekend. Since dropping their first three matches of the season, Niagara has gone 11-2 and climbed up the OCAA standings. With just two matches left on the season, the Knights need to win just one more in order to guarantee a home playoff game for the OCAA crossover matchup.
Elijah Bugiardini (Hamilton) was a force in both matches smashing 12 kills against Mohawk and another 9 against St. Clair. His impressive performances were in part thanks to some impressive setting from Ben Fillmore (Port Dover) who played his final two regular season home matches after a great five year Knights career. Over the two matches, Fillmore set up his teammates a total of 45 times.
Libero Robert Zalewski (Ingersoll) played great defensively picking up 13 digs against Mohawk and another 12 against the Saints.
The Knights will travel to take on the Humber Hawks (14-2, 2nd OCAA West) on Wednesday night before going to Hamilton on Saturday to take on the Redeemer Royals (10-6, 4th OCAA West) to close our their season. The Knights will look to end their season with a pair of victories against two of the top teams from the OCAA West as they prepare for the playoffs. The matchup with the Hawks begins at 8pm while the Redeemer match will take place at 3pm.
