February 10, 2024
WELLAND, ONT:, The 3rd place Niagara College women's volleyball team played host to the visiting 6th place Centennial Colts at the Simplii Financial Athletic Centre at the Welland Campus Saturday afternoon. The Knights came out strong and did not look back as they beat the Colts 3-1 (Set scores were 25-18, 25-19, 25-27 and 25-20).
Starting the match off strong would be an understatement for the Knights in this match as they came out firing on all cylinders. Offensively or defensively, it didn't matter where you looked as you had multiple Knights making play after play to control the game from start to finish. Montanna Taylor took the reins and provided the Knights with 28 assists, 10 kills, 13 digs, 3 service aces and 3 blocks. The hot hands of Kyleigh Baxter and Sam Cormier combined for 20 kills, 17 digs, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 2 service aces. Hannah Cowie and Taylor Lisabeth, both jumping into the starting lineup due to injuries, provided consistency on both sides of the ball for the Knights. Cowie hitting 6-for-8, giving her a .750 kill percentage on the afternoon and Lisabeth being a pillar defensively in the back row while also being dependable from the serve line.
Stepping into the head coaching role for the first time, interim head coach, Natasha Desjardins put a massive focus on the team effort for this match. "This was an important and well deserved TEAM win." She continued to say that "the ladies were dialled in and executed the game plan – they took care of business today and we couldn't be more proud." When discussing key moments from her players throughout the game, Desjardins was quick to acknowledge two individuals – Hannah Cowie and Taylor Lisabeth – as she could hardly hold back her excitement. She immediately wanted to give a "big shoutout to Taylor Lisabeth and Hannah Cowie for stepping up huge today. Hannah ended rallies with smart shots and big swings while Taylor was steady in the back row with her serve and defence."
The Knights will be taking to the road on Saturday, February 17th when they travel to Belleville to take on the 2nd place team in the east, the Loyalist Lancers. This match-up is set to start at 1:00pm with the winner heading to the OCAA Championships scheduled to take place over the weekend of February 23-25. For those unable to make the trip to cheer on your Knights, you can watch all the action live at www.ocaalive.com.
