The Niagara College Women's Volleyball Program travelled to North Bay this weekend for a pair of games against the Canadore Panthers and Nipissing Lakers. The 6-8 Knights defeated the Panthers in straight sets, before losing in three sets to the powerhouse Lakers on Sunday.
Saturday saw the Knights play a strong game against the 0-12 Panthers. The Knights earned a 3-0 victory in the contest and the set scores were 25-12, 25-13, 25-20.
Niagara Head Coach Joey Martins felt his team "come out ready to play." The Knights have struggled with consistency in recent weeks. The team's game plan heading into the match was to "stay focused and stick to the game plan" said Coach Martins.
The Knights offensive attack was led by outside hitters Jenna Bray, Alex Botelho, and newly converted middle blockerLindsay Murray. All three players finished the game with seven offensive points,
Sunday saw the Knights face the 12-2 Nipissing Lakers. In an almost a carbon copy of the team's season opening matchup on November 3rd, the Lakers swept the Knights in straight sets, 25-11, 25-21, 25-18.
Coach Martins commented that "Nipissing is a very good team and despite the outcome, our team showed flashes of how we can play."
The Lakers employed a balanced attack with four players recording six or more kills that simply proved too much for the Knights to counter.
Despite the loss third-year outside hitter Jenna Bray put in an outstanding performance. The Burlington native and Police Foundations student finished the match with 11 kills, a service ace, and 12 digs. The performance earned Bray her second consecutive Niagara College Female Athlete of the Week honour.
The Knights will look to regroup this week as the team hosts a crucial home court matchup against the Redeemer Royals. The Royals currently sit just 2 points ahead of the Knights in the OCAA West standings. First serve for the Friday, February 1st match is set for 6:00pm.
All Niagara College Varsity Athletics feature free admission and are live broadcasted and archived at www.sportslive.ca.
