February 6, 2023...WELLAND - The Niagara College Knights women's volleyball team suffered their second straight loss Saturday afternoon at the hands of the Mohawk Mountaineers 1-3. Set scores were 21-25,25-22,15-25,25-27.

The Knights were coming off a tough loss to the Humber Hawks just two nights before, where they fell to the undefeated Hawks 0-3.

Saturday's afternoon matinee was also full of emotion prior to the match, where Niagara honoured five-year Knight Natasha Desjardins for five seasons of wearing a Knights uniform. The 2021-2022 OCAA Player of the Year will cap off her five year career this season.

Riddled with injuries, the Knights struggled through the first set but managed to keep it close with the Mountaineers. A big second set effort from the Knights saw the blue and white rally and tie thing up 1-1 with a 25-22 win. Unfortunately Niagara seemed to lose their momentum in the third with Mohawk quickly taking set three 15-25 to go up 2-1. The final dagger from the Mountaineers came late in the fourth set when the Knights battled to a 25-27 loss and ultimately losing the game 1-3.

Montanna Taylor recorded 15 kills and 6 blocks, while Madelyn Berg picked up 19 digs.

With the win, the Mountaineers now have sole possession for the OCAA West fourth seed. However, despite the win, losing the one set to the Knights means Mohawk loses the head-to-head tiebreaker to Niagara as the two teams battle for fourth place and a home playoff game.

The Mountaineers have one remaining match left in the season and the Knights will play two more up in Sudbury before knowing who will host an OCAA crossover round match February 18th.

The Knights make their trek to Sudbury this weekend, with a match night Saturday against Cambrian (5-11) at 6:00pm, followed by Boreal (0-16) Sunday at 1:00pm.