Sunday, January 22nd saw the Niagara Knights women's volleyball program improve to 11-1 on the season after defeating the OCAA's No. 3 ranked Saint Clair Saints 3-1 at the Welland campus athletic centre. The set scores in the contest were 25-21, 19-25, 27-25, 25-18.
The win gives the CCAA No. 11 ranked Knights six consecutive victories and sets the stage for a big-time clash between the top ranked Humber Hawks (12-0) and second ranked Knights on Thursday, Janaury 26th. The two teams last met on November 23rd in a back-and-forth affair that saw the Hawks capture a tight four-set victory.
"St. Clair is a strong team that defends extremely well" commented Niagara College women's volleyball head coach Nathan Janzen. "Today was a tough match, but we competed hard and came away with the win."
The Knights offensive attack was paced by their dynamic trio of outside hitters in Rachel Rivers (Cambridge), Jordan Koslowski (Hamilton), and Linnea Davis (Brampton).
Rivers tallied a game high 15 kills in the contest. The hard swinging, six-foot-one leftside appears to be rounding into form that saw her named an OCAA First-Team all-star in 2015-16. Rivers underwent off-season ankle surgery and since the mid-season break is averaging 16 kills-per-match.
Davis was the Knights' most efficient attacker in contest, notching 10 kills on just 22 attempts, while also adding two blocks and a service ace. The six-foot-one rightside is in her fifth and final year of post-secondary competition. Koslowski meanwhile finished with nine kills and a match high six service aces.
"Jordan, Rachel, and Linnea do a fantastic job keeping us steady, and today was no exception. They provide a great example for our younger student-athletes on finding ways to win even when the team isn't playing at its best."
Desptie not playing to their full potential the score sheet for the match shows the Knights out-performing their Windsor-based opponents across the board leading in kills (43-31), assists (35-27), digs (40-31), and blocks (8-4).
Up next the Knights will travel to Etobicoke for a highly anticipated matchup between the top-two teams in the OCAA. The undefeated Hawks have lost just two sets in the entire 2016-17 season. First serve is set for 6:00pm at the Humber North Campus.
