Thursday, December 3rd saw the Niagara College women's volleyball program improve to 7-2 on the season with a hard fought five-set victory over the visiting Redeemer Royals in front of a loud and rowdy crowd at the Welland Campus Athletic Centre. The set scores in the contest were 25-27, 25-15, 25-27, 25-23, 15-2.
Redeemer is a very good team. They are virtually the same team as they were last year; athletic and tall" said Niagara College women's volleyball head coach Joey Martins. "We knew tonight was going to be a real battle, and it was."
The OCAA's No. 2 ranked Knights were pushed to the limits by the Ancaster–based Royals. The Knights never led in the contest and during sets three and four were forced to battle hard to avoid dropping their third match of the season.
"I am extremely proud of the way these girls competed" continued Martins. "Tonight it felt like we were constantly behind the 8-ball, but we were relentless in our pursuit to finish the semester with a win. Our backs were against the wall after set three. We came out ahead in a tight 4th set and really managed to continue that momentum through the fifth set."
The Knights were led offensively by first-year outside hitter Jordan Koslowski. The five-foot-eleven Hamilton native turned in a season high 13 points on 10 kills, and three blocks. Koslowski sits fourth on the team in scoring with 56 points.
Team captain Devon Lowes (Oakville) continued her outstanding play finishing with nine kills and three blocks. The imposing middle blocker currently sits fourth in the CCAA in blocks-per-set with an average of 1.09. Cambridge native Rachel Rivers also had a strong showing finishing with 10 points, while second year setter Bailey Davis was dominant from the service line notching a season best six aces.
The win wraps up the first half of the 2015-16 season on a high note for the Knights. The team currently sports a 7-2 record, and the two losses are the second fewest in the OCAA West Division. The Knights will return to action on Thursday, January 14th when they host the Mohawk Mountaineers at 6:00pm at the Welland Athletic Centre.
