Despite turning in one of their best efforts of the 2013-14 season, the Niagara College women's volleyball program was unable to come away with a victory on Sunday, as the CCAA's #3 ranked Humber Hawks (13-0) edged out the Knights three sets to two. The set scores in the contest were 23-25, 25-9, 23-25, 25-13, 15-5.
The difference in the tough five-set battle proved to be the service game of the Hawks. Humber recorded an impressive 22 services aces to the Knights' five.
Niagara College women's volleyball head coach Joey Martins commented "tonight was a very good match, we grinded out set wins, and we put up a very hard fight against the 3rd best team in the country."
The Knights struggled out of the gate, trailing 7-2 in the opening set. Coming out of a time out, the Knights played some of their strongest volleyball of the season, rushing out to a 17-10 lead before taking the first set.
The back and forth affair saw the Hawks respond emphatically in the second set, before once again the strong back court defense of the Knights saw the team capture set three.
The experience of the Hawks paid off in the late stages of the match as the veteran side began to impose their will on the much younger Knights, en route to the hard fought victory.
Heading into the match versus the Niagara, the Hawks sported a dominant 12-0 record and had suffered just two sets losses on the season. The Hawks are led by fifth-year blocker Kelly Nyhof. Nyhof is a member of the Canadian Senior Women's National Team.
Given the unenviable task of matching up with Nyhof was third-year Stoney Creek native Alex Botelho.
Coach Martins continued "Alex did a fantastic job against possibly the best player in the province tonight. Not only did she do a great job defending, Alex led our team with 14 total points." The six-foot Botelho is studying Recreation and Leisure studies at Niagara and serves as the Knights' team captain.
The Knights will have a full week off before returning to the court on Saturday, January 25th for a road matchup versus the Fanshawe Falcons
