On a night where the graduating players for the Niagara Knights women's volleyball program (12-5, 2nd OCAA West) were honoured, the team moved one step closer to attaining a playoff bye and a berth in the OCAA Championship.
It was all Knights in the 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-25) victory over the Conestoga Condors (2-15, 9th OCAA West) on Thursday. Jasmine Thome (Kenora), playing in her final home game as a Knight, led the way offensively with 14 points for Niagara on the strength of 12 kills. Defensively Samantha Bailey (Cambridge) had 15 of the Knights 45 digs in the match.
The 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-25) victory over the Condors moves the Knights into a second place tie in the OCAA West division with the Fanshawe Falcons (12-5, 2nd OCAA West). Both teams have one game remaining to determine who will finish in second and earn the automatic berth into the OCAA Championship. Currently Conestoga holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Knights, so Niagara will need some help to clinch the bye. If the Knights can defeat the Sheridan Bruins (9-8, 5th OCAA West) on Tuesday night, combined with a Fanshawe loss on Saturday would earn the berth for Niagara.
The graduating players from this year's Knights team are Jasmine Thome, Nicole Abbott (Burlington), Nicole Chiesa (Thorold), Bailey Davis (Georgetown), and Linnea Davis (Brampton). They will hit the court with their Knights teammates next on February 19th when they play at Sheridan. By then the Knights will know whether or not they have the opportunity to clinch the first round playoff bye.
