The Niagara Knights men's and women's volleyball teams got their seasons started up this past weekend when they took on the Fanshawe Falcons at home.
The women took care of business in the first set, winning 25-21 against a strong Falcons team that finished 2nd in the OCAA West a year ago. That was all they could manage, however, as the Falcons stormed back to win the next three sets and earn the victory.
Jordan Koslowski (Hamilton) led the way offensively with 10 points, recording seven kills and a pair of service aces. Montanna Taylor (St. Catharines) recorded 16 assists in her first career OCAA match.
"Obviously today wasn't the result we would have wanted," said Knights women's head coach Natasha Spaling. "Fanshawe is a good team and they played well today."
In the men's game, the defending OCAA champion Falcons got out to an early lead and kept their momentum going, winning the first three sets to earn the victory. The Knights showed flashes of great offensive play, but they couldn't find consistent points when they were needed.
Jaydon Milne (Toronto) paced the Knights offensively with 10 points, including eight kills and a pair of service aces.
"We started the match strongly and were able to execute our offence the way we wanted to," said Knights men's head coach Tommy Sloan. "But as each set wore on we weren't able to maintain the same level of play as Fanshawe." Sloan was impressed with the way one of the program's incoming rookies played in his first OCAA game.
"I thought Micah Nieuwets (St. Catharines) came in and played a great match today. He brings a lot of energy to the floor and the team feeds off of big plays that he makes."
The Niagara Knights volleyball teams will travel to Conestoga College on Thursday Oct 25th to take on the Condors. The women will play at 6pm while opening serve for the men if scheduled for 8pm.
