Winners of four straight, the Niagara Knights women's volleyball program (13-5, 2nd OCAA West) will be looking to keep the momentum rolling when they kick off the OCAA Championships on Thursday afternoon. The Knights will head north to Canadore College in North Bay for the tournament from February 25-27.
Looking to improve upon last year's bronze medal finish, Niagara will rely on a balanced attack to carry them through the tournament. Second-year setter Bailey Davis (Georgetown) is among the OCAA's best. She finished second in the OCAA with 7.83 assists per set and fifth with 0.71 service aces per set. Davis has been the Knights key to success this season, as the team is a perfect 7-0 when she records 30 assists or more in a match.
Rachel Rivers (Cambridge) has taken advantage of Davis' precision passing all season long. Rivers led the Knights, and finished twelfth in the OCAA, with a .276 hitting percentage. She also was the Knights leader in points per set with an average of 3.1. However Rivers was not alone in the Knights multi-faceted offence. The league's fourth highest scoring offence also received more than 2 points per set from Linnea Davis (Brampton), Jordan Koslowski (Hamilton), Jasmine Thome (Kenora), and Samantha Bailey (Cambridge).
On defence the Knights were led in the backcourt by dig leaders Rivers and Kennisis VanSoelen (Orangeville). VanSoelen finished ninth in the OCAA with 3.03 digs per set, while Rivers contributed 2.67. At the net Linnea Davis and Jasmine Thome were the Knights blocks leaders with 35 and 28 respectively this season.
Niagara will open the tournament against a tough Trent Excalibur (16-4, 3rd OCAA East) squad. Playing in their final OCAA championships before moving to the OUA, the Voyageurs are nursing a seven game winning streak, including a 3-0 win in their first round playoff match. Trent features a consistent lineup that has the league's second best hitting percentage, rounding out the season with a .250 average. The match is scheduled for Thursday, February 25 at 3:00 pm.
Should the Knights trump their foe from Peterborough, they will advance to the semi-final where they would meet either the Durham Lords (19-1, 1st OCAA West) or Cambrian Golden Shield (10-8, 4th OCAA West) at 6:00 pm on February 26th. The OCAA Championship match will be played at 4:00 pm on Saturday, February 27th.
The Knights opening match will be broadcast live on CogecoTV Niagara, available throughout the Niagara Region. Additionally all tournament games will be streamed live at www.canadoretv.com
