The Niagara College Women's Volleyball Program earned their biggest win of the season on Friday night, defeating the Redeemer Royals in straight sets in front of a large crowd at the Welland Campus Athletic Centre. Set scores for the match were25-23, 25-17, 25-19.
The Knights looked better than they have in all of 2013. Head Coach Joey Martins felt the strong performance was due to his team "preparing very well all week. We did video everyday and it showed tonight."
Redeemer's offense revolves around the dominant play of second-year outside hitter Curtiss Straatsma. The six-foot-one Brampton native is among the OCAA league leaders in most offensive stats.
Coach Martins noted "Curtiss is one of the best players in the Province, and the game plan tonight was to try to minimize her impact. I think we did a good job of that."
The Knights countered with their own powerful outside hitter, third-year Jenna Bray. For the third consecutive match, Bray was outstanding for the Knights, finishing with a team high 12 kills, and also adding a service ace and 12 digs. The Police Foundations student has been named Niagara College Female Athlete of the Week for two consecutive weeks.
Coach Martins commented "Jenna was huge for us tonight. To record 12 kills in a three set match is massive."
The Knights utilized their service game throughout the match, recording 10 service aces in the contest. Middle Blocker Lindsay Murray led the way with five while Nicole Schoodderwoerd added three.
The win moves the Knights into the middle of the OCAA West Division playoff race. Coach Martins added "it's a huge win for us. It gives us a real shot at a crossover playoff game."
The Knights will wrap up their 2012-13 home-court schedule on Thursday, February 7th at 6:00pm when the team hosts the Mohawk Mountaineers at the Welland Campus Athletic Centre.
Admission to all Niagara College Varsity Athletics is free, and all games are live broadcasted and archived at www.sportslive.ca.
