The Niagara Knights women's volleyball program (9-3, 2nd OCAA West) dropped a tough 3-1 (16-25, 26-24, 17-25, 18-25) decision to the top-ranked Humber Hawks (11-0, 1st OCAA West) on Wednesday night.
Entering the match with a perfect record, Humber outlasted the Knights for the victory. In each of the four sets the Hawks jumped out to an early lead, only to see a resilient Niagara team battle back to tie up each set. Aside from the second set, which was won by the Knights, Niagara had trouble capitalizing on any momentum that they developed before it would be snatched back by Humber.
"We fought back every time to tie the set," head coach Ray Sarkis said of the Knights performance, "but we allowed Humber to regain momentum and the lead each time."
Rachel Rivers (Cambridge), last week's OCAA women's volleyball athlete of the week, was the only Knights player to reach double digit points and digs in the match. Rivers recorded 11 points and 12 digs. Bailey Davis (Georgetown) continued her strong setting game contributing 22 assists in the match.
Niagara will look to shake off the loss as they hit the road for their next two matches. The Knights will travel to London to take on the Fanshawe Falcons (9-3, 2nd OCAA West) on January 23rd followed by a trip to Ancaster to meet up with the Redeemer Royals (5-6, 7th OCAA West) on January 29th. Niagara will return to the Welland Campus Athletic Centre for back to back games against Cambrian (7-4, 4th OCAA West) on February 6th at 6:00 pm and Boreal (0-11, 10th OCAA West) on February 7th at 1:00 pm.
