The Niagara College women's volleyball program improved to three and two on the season after defeating the visiting Mohawk Mountaineers on Sunday, November 10th in a thrilling five-set match at the Welland Campus Athletic Centre. The set scores for the contest were 19-25, 25-19, 25-13, 17-25, 18-16.
After the match Niagara College women's volleyball head coach Joey Martins commented "today we showed flashed of great play. But most importantly we saw great fight from the whole team. We played hard for each other, kept the effort level high, and maintained that never quit attitude."
The Knights opened the match slowly losing the first set convincingly. The team, riding the strong play of veteran middle blocker and team captain Alex Bothleho, rebounded in the second set and third sets. The six-foot native of Stoney Creek finished the match with six kills, three blocks, and two service aces.
The third set saw the breakout performance of first-year outside hitter Maddi Morgan. The five-foot-nine native of Whitby served 10 consecutive points including nine aces. The dominant service game of Morgan allowed the Knights to cruise to a victory in the set. Morgan finished the match with nine aces, four kills, four blocks, and 18 digs.
After dropping the fourth set, and opening the fifth set poorly, the Mountaineers appeared to have the match in hand leading 13-11. The Knights battled back receiving two key blocks from Botelho and a pair of timely service aces from rookie middle blocker Amy Page.
Page, a local Welland native and graduate of Centennial High School served the team's final three points in the match
Coach Martins continued "Everyone played well today. All eight players that saw the court contributed to tonight's victory."
The win moves the Knights to 3-2 on the season and into fourth place in the competitive OCAA West Division. The Knights will face the Sheridan Bruins on Thursday, November 14th at the Welland Campus Athletic Centre.
Heading into one of the most important stretches of the season Coach Martins emphasized the importance of "focusing on Sheridan this week and playing the season one match at a time."
First-serve for Thursday's matchup is set for 6:00pm and admission is free for all Niagara College students.
