Feb. 5 Niagara College Sports Report
The Niagara College Knights men’s volleyball team concluded the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association regular season with a pair of victories.
Niagara (11-7) swept Mohawk 3-0 (25-18, 25-14 and 25-23) and also recorded a 3-0 victory (25-14, 29-27 and 29-21) over Sheridan.
“It was nice to finish off the regular season with two wins,” Niagara head coach Steve Stone said. “The boys have been focused and executing really well. We’ve cleaned up a lot of errors and have been provided a spark from multiple different guys. Full team effort.”
The Knights finished the regular season with a record of 11-7 and will play a crossover playoff game on the road against the Algonquin Wolves (14-4) on Saturday. A win advances Niagara to the quarter-finals the following weekend.
Top Niagara performers versus Mohawk (7-11) were: Elijah Bugiardini with nine kills, four digs, two blocks and a service ace; Matthew Takacs with seven kills, eight digs and an assist; and, Liam Marchetti and Ashton Nieuwets who combined for nine kills, six digs, two blocks, an assist and a service ace.
Leading the way against Sheridan (3-15) were: Tyler Carmichael with 12 kills, four digs and a block; Marchetti with 11 kills, two digs, an assist and a service ace; and, Carter Thurman with 36 assists, 12 digs, three kills, a block and a service ace.
For his performance, Carmichael was named Niagara College’s Male Athlete of the Week.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Niagara women’s volleyball team finished the regular season with a record of 11-7 following a 3-1 loss (20-25, 23-25, 25-15 and 22-25) to Mohawk (10-8) and a 3-2 victory (21-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-17 and 25-13) over Sheridan (5-13).
“Five-set thrillers are great for the fans, not always great as a coach. Big shout out to the girls as that showed a lot of mental toughness and grit to come from behind to take the game,” Stone said. “Great to see Sophia (Matias) come into her own and take over as well as Jadyn (Bertrand) stepping up huge and coming up with clutch and timely plays.”
Niagara nows hosts a crossover playoff game Saturday at 2 p.m. against the Centennial Colts (9-9). A win advances Niagara to the quarter-finals the following weekend.
Playing well for Niagara against Mohawk were: Montanna Taylor with 18 assists, 11 digs, 10 kills, four blocks and a service ace; Emmah Gmoser with nine kills, nine digs, two service aces and an assist; and, Matias, Tess Kelly and Kyleigh Baxter who combined for 15 kills, four blocks, nine digs, three assists and a service ace.
Leading the way against Sheridan were: Matias with 17 kills, five digs and an assist; Bertrand with four kills, 10 digs, an assist and an abundance of energy off the bench; and, Taylor and Sam Cormier who combined for 12 kills, 31 assists, two service aces, nine digs and 11 blocks.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Niagara’s men’s basketball team (11-6) split a pair of games last week, recording a 77-68 victory over the Lambton Lions (7-9) and falling 84-63 to the St. Clair Saints (13-3).
Topping the stat sheet versus Lambton were: Reggie Williams with 18 points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals; Kadin Moore with 13 points, three rebounds and two steals; Khayden Stewart with 10 points, three rebounds, seven assists and two steals; Kenneth Reckley, Jr. with eight points, nine rebounds, two assists one steal and two blocks; and, Raheem Dennis with eight points, five rebounds, an assist and three steals.
“A big road win today,” Niagara head coach Phil Mosley said. “Every game down the stretch is important and our guys approached this game with a sense of urgency and focus. We shot the ball much better and we always rely heavily on our defence to give us those opportunities.”
Performing well against St. Clair were: Adrian Pajor with 13 points, four rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block; Dennis with 12 points, four rebounds and an assist; and, Reckley, Jr. with nine points, eight rebounds and a block.
“Unfortunately we came out flat today and could not put together a run to close an early-game deficit. They are a very strong team and we needed to bring our best effort, intensity and execution,” he said. “We will now prepare for our final regular season game Wednesday at home against Sheridan.”
Game time Wednesday is 8 p.m. Sheridan comes in with a record of 8-8, including 6-4 in its last 10 games.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Niagara’s women’s basketball team (11-4) rebounded from a 65-40 loss to the Lambton Lions (12-2) Saturday by recording a 53-52 victory Sunday over the St. Clair Saints (11-3).
“A huge road trip this weekend for us. Probably the toughest road swing and back-to-back in the league,” Niagara head coach Chris Rao said. “Saturday versus Lambton we really struggled in the second half and did not play well and that can be daunting with St. Clair waiting for you there the next day.”
Playing well for Niagara against Lambton were: Lexxus Bell with seven points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal; Taryn Mitchell with seven points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal; Grifin Lack-Shane with eight points, three rebounds, two steals and a block; Destiny Osadebamwen with six points, four rebounds and two steals; and, Janee Harrison with six points, seven rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Leading the way against St. Clair were: Harrison with 16 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two blocks; Jamira Rousseau with 10 points, three rebounds and one assist; and Mitchell with nine points, 10 rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block.
“I’m really proud that our group was able to refocus so fast and go out and win on the road against a really good Saints team. The defence was awesome. Jamira Rousseau and the team held the leading scorer in the OCAA West, Kaitlyn Overeem, to 11 points for the game and zero in the second half,” he said. “Offensively we just did enough. Janee Harrison was great and we got big plays and contributions from everywhere.”
For her efforts, Harrison was named Niagara College’s Female Athlete of the Week.
Niagara concludes the regular season at home Wednesday at 6 p.m. against Sheridan (0-15).
