Knights mine OCAA volleyball bronze
The Niagara College Knights women’s volleyball team returned from the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association Final Four with a bronze medal in hand.
Niagara opened the the championship with a 3-1 loss (17-25, 25-23, 21-25 and 18-25) to unbeaten and eventual champion Humber before rebounding to sweep Fanshawe 3-0 (25-20, 25-22 and 25-23) in the bronze medal game.
“We set out at the beginning of the year with a medal in mind and obviously it’s pretty exciting with it being my first full year with the women’s program,” Niagara head coach Steve Stone said. “The foundation was set by some of the previous coaches and with some of the veteran players that were still on the team. In the end, we walked away with a medal and I am definitely excited about that.”
Stone’s early-season confidence in his squad was based on a number of factors.
“Taking over the squad last year in January, we made the quarter-finals with a pretty young team. We still had Montanna Taylor who is a fourth-year and Abbey Gooder was a third year but just learning to be a pin hitter that year . We made it that far with a whole bunch of rookies and all the ladies were coming in more experienced, more hungry and ready to go. Then we had a pretty talented recruiting class coming in as well. We signed 12 girls in the off-season, 11 of them being true rookies, and we were happy with the talent and the depth coming in. We knew we were going to be pretty special.”
The Knights went into the bronze medal march confident after beating Fanshawe twice already this season.
“We knew we were obviously more than capable and we knew we had to come in and stay steady and consistent. My message to the girls was ‘You’ve prepared all year for this moment and we don’t need any more but we don’t need any less. Just stay consistent and steady, keep doing what you are doing and we are going to be just fine.’ The girls came in so composed and ready to compete and they played with joy and for each other.”
Leading the way for Niagara in the bronze medal game were: Sam Cormier with 11 points on nine kills, two digs, two blocks and an assist; Taylor with eight points on five kills, 24 assists, eight digs, two service aces and a block; and, Niagara player of the game Natalie Little with 10 points on seven kills, 10 digs, two blocks, two assists and one service ace.
Against Humber, Stone and the Knights knew they were in tough.
“The ladies came in prepared to play. Coming in against a powerhouse like Humber, the girls were not scared and they knew they were going to come in and not back down. They were going to take it to them and they pushed Humber and made them sweat a little bit which is big. Going in, our girls were playing the best ball they played all year and it is all about peaking a the right time. I am really proud of the girls and how they competed in that game.”
Playing well against Humber were: Cormier with 12 points on five kills, seven blocks and four digs; championship all-star Taylor with six points on six kills, 20 assists and 12 digs; and, Abbey Gooder with seven points on five kills, 12 digs, a block and a service ace
Stone is excited about the future of the program.
“We can’t really replace a Montanna Taylor and we also lose Hannah Cowie and Natalie Little which isn’t ideal but we only lose three players on a 19-person roster,” he said. “We have already had quite a few commits who we are pretty excited about for next season. We are planning to reload and chase a medal again.”
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Niagara’s women’s basketball team saw its season end in disappointment following a 56-53 quarter-final loss on its home court against the Fanshawe Falcons.
The OCAA West Division champions finished the season with an overall record 15-3.
In the quarter-final, Niagara faced quarter deficits of 11-9, 26-19 and 44-37.
Top performers for Niagara were: Taryn Mitchell with 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists; Jamira Rousseau with six points and five steals; Eremon Destiny with six points; Aisja Strachan with five points and five rebounds; and, Alyah Pereira with five points.
