With a 3-0 (26-24, 25-18, 15-15) sweep over the Sheridan Bruins (9-9, 7th OCAA West) the Niagara Knights women's volleyball program (13-5, 2nd OCAA West) earned a first round playoff bye and berth into the OCAA Championship. The Knights entered Tuesday's match against the Bruins needing a victory to break a second place tie with the Fanshawe Falcons (12-6, 3rd OCAA West) and guarantee themselves a spot in the provincial championship.
On a stormy winter day, the Knights got off to a rough start and found themselves down 17-6 early in the first set. From that point on, it was all Knights for the remainder of the match. Veterans Linnea Davis (Brampton) and Jasmine Thome (Kenora) took charge for Niagara, who stormed back for a 26-24 set victory. Niagara would win each of the next two sets convincingly to earn the victory.
Head coach Ray Sarkis was pleased with the way his team stuck to the game plan despite the early struggles. "Our plan was to neutralize their middle blockers," said Sarkis, "Which we were able to do because our middles were very successful in scoring." Rookie Jordan Koslowski (Hamilton) led the offence with 12 kills, while Linnea Davis added 10 kills and six blocks. Rachel Rivers (Cambridge) and Jasmine Thome each had eight kills.
Bailey Davis (Georgetown) was once again tremendous in distributing the ball, recording 30 assists in the victory. Davis, who ranks second in the OCAA in assists per set, has been the key to the Knights success this season. The Knights are now a perfect 7-0 when Davis records 30 or more assists in a match.
The Knights will now have two weeks off before they travel to North Bay for the OCAA Championships, hosted by Canadore College, from February 25-27. Niagara will be looking to improve upon their third place finish at last year's championship. The Knights lost their opening match at last year's tournament, but rebounded for three straight victories to claim the OCAA Bronze Medal.
