January 24, 2024
WELLAND, ONT:, The Niagara College men's volleyball team (9-6) enjoyed coming back home to take on the Redeemer Royals (4-12). The Knights took down the Royals, winning 3-1 (Set scores were 25-11, 26-24, 25-27 and 25-19).
The Knights came out firing, holding the Royals to only 11 points in the first set. The Royals put up a valiant effort throughout the 2nd and 3rd sets, before the Knights called it a night by winning the 4th set to close out the game. Carter Thurman led the charge with 32 assists, 10 digs and 2 blocks. Brothers, Ashton Nieuwets and Micah Nieuwets, headed the tip of the spear for the Knights uniting for 23 kills, 28 digs, 2 blocks, 1 service ace and 1 assist. Matthew Takacs followed close behind offensively by adding in 9 kills while Mitch Churipuy put on another defensive gem tallying up 13 digs.
When asked about the win, Steve Stone, head coach of the Knights, stated that it was a "good win for the squad. (It was) nice to have a bounce back game where we saw some guys step up and take charge – our efficiency just went up a lot in areas we needed it to." Stone also praised Redeemer for having "stellar defence" but also mentioned that "even though that (the Redeemer Royals) defence can make things tough to finally terminate a ball, the guys stuck to it and executed."
The Knights take to the road once again in hopes of continuing their winning ways to take on the Fanshawe Falcons (10-5) for a showdown in London on Saturday, January 27th. Catch all the action and cheer on your Knights at www.ocaalive.com.
