Jan. 20 Niagara College report: Volleyball and basketball
The Niagara College Knights women’s volleyball team recorded a 3-2 victory (25-18, 23-25, 19-25, 25-16, 15-12) to hand the Mohawk Mountaineers their first Ontario Colleges Athletic Association loss since Nov. 30.
Niagara improved to 7-4 with the victory while Mohawk fell to 6-4.
“I am really proud of the resiliency that this group continues to show,” Niagara head coach Steve Dow said. “We continue to fight when things are not going the way we plan them.”
But that doesn’t mean Dow is satisfied.
“I think we need to do a better job focusing on the little things that will sustain a higher set of standards for our group,” he said. “We are doing a great job attacking from the outside, but we will continue to try and do a better job getting our middles involved in the offence moving forward.”
Niagara was led by captain Natasha Desjardins (Jean Vanier) with a kill percentage of .375 and 22 points, followed by first-year Kristen Oudman with 16 points.
“All game we saw flashes of brilliance and we want to turn those flashes into longer stretches,” Dow said.
Next home game for Niagara is Thursday, Jan. 30, versus the second-place Humber Hawks (9-2)
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Niagara’s men’s volleyball team remained unbeaten in 2020 thanks to a 3-2 (17-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-23, and 15-12) win over the visiting Mohawk Mountaineers.
Sandwiched between a pair of losses to Niagara, were six straight wins for Mohawk.
Niagara improved to 8-3 with the victory while Mohawk dropped to 6-4.
The Knights were led by Samuel Otten who recorded 25 kills, a .431 kill percentage and 28 points in the match. Otten is third among point leaders in the OCAA with 5.1 points per set.
Third-year Elijah Bugiadini added 19 kills and 23 points in the triumph.
Niagara hosts unbeaten Humber on Jan. 30.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Rookie Kennan Larmand netted a season-high 32 points but it wasn’t enough as the Niagara College men’s basketball team dropped a 99-82 decision to the Sheridan Bruins.
Niagara trailed 56-29 at the half and fell to 4-7 on the season. Sheridan improved to 8-3 in OCAA play with the victory.
“We came out flat in the first half and were forced to play catch up the rest of the game,” Niagara head coach Phil Mosley said. “The men showed great resolve to finish the fourth quarter with a spirited 32-13 run.
“We hope to carry some of the positives of our finish into our next games.”
Also performing well for Niagara in the game were: Johnnie Richardson (Saint Paul), 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals; Lequan Hylton, 13 points and five rebounds; and, Sterphone Augustin, 11 points, 16 boards and five blocked shots.
Richardson was named the OCAA Star of the Week and the Niagara College male athlete for the week of Jan. 13.
Next up for Niagara is a Saturday home game versus Lambton (5-7). Game time is 4 p.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Niagara College’s women’s basketball team fell to 1-9 in OCAA action following a 61-54 loss to the Sheridan Bruins (6-4)
Head coach Chris Rao’s squad, which includes nine first-year players, continues to make strides as the season goes along. When the Knights last played Sheridan Nov. 1, they lost by 25 points.
“We played very hard against a competitive Sheridan team,” Rao said. “Ultimately, it came down to turnovers, as it did against Conestoga last week, and we need to do a better job of taking care of the ball.”
Performing well for Niagara were: Jessyka Maliksi, 19 points; Leanne Dekorte (Heritage Christian), 10 points and 13 boards; Kaisen MacKinnon, 10 points and seven rebounds; and, Terin Hultink (Smithville Christian), seven points and 21 rebounds.
Niagara hosts Lambton (7-4) Saturday at 2 p.m.
Coverage of the Niagara Knights is made possible with the support of the Niagara College Department of Athletics & Recreation. For more information, please visit www.goknights.ca
