Sunday, February 19th saw the Niagara College women's volleyball program punch their ticket to the 2017 OCAA Championship via a decisive three-set playoff victory over the visiting Seneca Sting. In a match that lasted just over an hour, the Knights captured set wins of 25-17, 31-29, and 25-6.
It was great to see us play with such joy on the floor" said Niagara College women's volleyball head coach Nathan Janzen. "We served extremely well, especially when down in the second set. Overall we really executed our game plan."
The Knights were led offensively by veteran outside hitter Rachel Rivers. The six-foot-one native of Cambridge provide the Knights with a dominant all-around effort to the tune of nine kills, two aces, two blocks and a match high 17 digs.
"Bailey Davis was our player of the game" continued Janzen. "She had her best serving game of the season, distributed exactly as we needed her to, and she made some really strong decisions."
Davis, a native Georgetown, is in her third year with the Knights as the team's starting setter. The veteran finished Sunday's match with 27 assists and six service aces. Davis led the OCAA in assists in 2016-17 finishing with 482.
The wins sees the Knights advance to the OCAA Championship being hosted by the St. Clair Saints from February 24-26. The team will be looking to extend their medal winning streak to three consecutive seasons, as 2014-15 saw the Knights capture a Bronze medal, while 2015-16 saw the team bring home the provincial silver.
Niagara will face the Cambrian golden Shield in their opening matchup at 3:30pm on Friday, February 24th. Niagara went 2-0 against their Sudbury based opponents in 2016-17, most recently a 3-1 road victory on January 14th.
"We are immediately preparing to play Cambrian in quarterfinal match on Friday" added Janzen. "They have had a fantastic second half in which they beat two great teams (St. Clair and Fanshawe) to make playoffs. They are a very well coached team. They will be a handful for sure as their ball control is extremely good,"
For more information on the 2017 OCAA Women's Volleyball Champion please visit the Championship website at http://ocaa.com/championships/wvbl/2016-17/index.
