Jan. 27 Niagara College sports report
The Niagara College Knights men’s volleyball team (8-8) dropped a pair of matches last week and sits in fifth place in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association West Division.
Niagara lost 3-1 (11-25, 25-18, 23-25, and 23-25) to the Conestoga Condors and 3-0 (19-25, 19-25 and 21-25) to the St. Clair Saints.
Top performers for Niagara versus Conestoga were: R.J. Martin with nine points on seven kills, two digs, two blocks and and assist; Wizdom Smith with 13 points on 11 kills, four digs and two blocks; and Ashton Nieuwets with 10 points on seven kills, six digs, two blocks, a service ace and an assist.
Leading the way versus St. Clair were: Nieuwets with 12 points on 10 kills, four digs and two blocks; Rowan Redekop with four points on three kills, a dig and a block; and, Smith with six points on four kills, two digs, a block, a service ace and an assist.
“The boys were not ready to compete and St. Clair was. Lucky for us, we have a full week of practice to prepare for our final two games,” Niagara head coach Steve Stone said.
The home match versus Conesotoga was Senior Night and Ashton Nieuwets, Liam Marchetti, Matthew Takacs, Adrien Feuillat and Micah Nieuwets were honoured.
Niagara is at Boreal (0-15) Saturday and third-place Cambrian (11-4) Sunday.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Niagara’s women’s volleyball team, which sits in third place in the OCAA West with a 10-6 record, split a pair of matches last week.
Niagara swept Conestoga (25-15, 25-19 and 25-15) and lost 3-0 (23-25, 20-25 and 21-25) to St. Clair.
Topping the stat sheet for Niagara versus Conestoga were: Aja Zambiasi with 11 points on five kills, 11 digs, two blocks and four service aces; Natalie Little with 10 points on eight kills, one assist, two service aces, 11 digs and two blocks; and, Sam Cormier with 10 points on four kills, two digs, two assists and six blocks.
Leading the way against St. Clair were: Montanna Taylor with eight points on five kills, 17 assists, a block, two digs and two service aces; Cormier with eight points on five kills, a dig and three blocks; and, Tess Kelly with six points on three kills, two digs and two blocks.
“The ladies came ready to play (against St. Clair) with effort but we lacked discipline and communication on defence,” Stone said. “We really need to tighten up on that side of the ball and then limit our attacking errors.”
The home match versus Conesotoga was Senior Night and Hannah Cowie, Little and Taylor were honoured.
Niagara is at Boreal (0-15) Saturday and third-place Cambrian (7-8) Sunday.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
The Niagara’s men’s basketball team holds down fifth spot in the OCAA West Division with a 7-7 record after posting a .500 record last week.
Niagara edged Fanshawe 72-70 and dropped a 77-74 decision to Conestoga.
Performing well versus Fanshawe were: Raheem Dennis with 18 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal and a block in 23 minutes; Skylar Samuel with 14 points, three rebounds, one steal and two blocks in 28 minutes; and, Adrian Pajor with 12 points, one rebound, one assist and one steal in 12 minutes.
Leading the way against Conestoga were: Khayden Stewart with 22 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals in 32 minutes; Samuel with 14 points, nine rebounds, one assist and one block in 24 minutes; and, Isiah Panom with 12 points, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 21 minutes.
“We got out to a strong start in the first half, but it was a total different story for us in the second half. We kind of were battling the same issues we did in the first part of our season with our shooting, scoring off turnovers, creating good shots for our team and we came up short,” Niagara head coach Lequan Hylton said about the Conesotoga game. “We know the adjustments we need to make and this is a learning experience for our team and staff.”
Stewart was named Niagara College’s Male Athlete of the Week.
Niagara hosts Lambton (5-10) Friday at 8 p.m. and second-place St. Clair (13-2) Saturday at 4 p.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Niagara’s women’s basketball team (11-2) fell out of a tie for first place in the OCAA West by winning one of two games last week.
The Knights lost 58-50 to Fanshawe and defeated Conestoga 64-54.
Topping the stat sheet against Fanshawe were: Aisja Strachan with 16 points, four rebounds, one steal and a block in 22 minutes; Jamira Rousseau with 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and a block in 32 minutes; and, Janee Harrison with 12 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block in 35 minutes.
Performing well versus Conestoga were: Taryn Mitchell with 15 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal in 23 minutes; Strachan with 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal in 25 minutes; and, Eremwon Destiny with seven points, six rebounds and one assist in 20 minutes.
Strachan was named Niagara College’s Female Athlete of the Week.
Niagara hosts Lambton (8-5) Friday at 6 p.m. and St. Clair (5-8) Saturday at 2 p.m.
CURLING
The Knights’ rosters are set for the 2025 curling season.
Named to the mixed doubles teams are Julia Markle, Noah Lebrun, William Mitchell and Victoria Pedro.
Chosen for the men’s squad are Carter Chopin, Joshua Custers, Aidan Luk and Tyler Ramos.
Selected for the women’s team are Alexa Desrochers, Briana Szigeto-Jonasson, Paige Taylor, Julia Reichelt and Carmen Warboys.
