Niagara College Sports Report Nov. 13
The Niagara College Knights women’s volleyball team improved to 5-1 in Ontario Colleges Athletic Association West Division play with a pair of victories.
Niagara defeated Cambrian 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 23-25 and 25-20) and swept Boreal 3-0 (25-9, 25-15 and 25-18).
Kyleigh Baxter was the Player of the Game against Cambrian and Jadyn Bertrand was the Player of the Game against Boreal.
“I am very pleased with our team’s performance this weekend against Cambrian and Boreal colleges. We created a solid game planned and the team implemented it perfectly,” head coach Elaine Pilgrim-Susi said. “The team improved in its serving and serve receive after a week of intense focus and hard work.”
Leading the way versus Cambrian were: Hope Nicholson with 13 kills; Sam Cormier with eight kills; Baxter with seven kills and four service aces; and, Montanna Taylor with seven kills, five service aces and 28 assists.
Against Boreal: Bertrand had eight kills; Rhea-Lee Humphrey had seven kills; Vanja Kljajic and Cormier had six kills; Rhea-Lee Humphrey had six service aces; Rachael Bickford had 23 assists; and, Tia Kelly had 11 assists.
“In the game against Boreal, it was great to be able to play some of our players who don’t get the opportunity to play as much as our starters and they all played very well,” she said.
For her efforts, Baxter was named Niagara College’s female athlete of the week.
“Kyleigh is a first-year student-athlete who has made considerable progress to date. Her focus, fierce desire to showcase her skills and hard work at practice has been paying off on the court. From crushing it at the net to playing outstanding defence, she continues to grow in her skills and confidence,” Pilgrim-Susi said.
Niagara hosts the St. Clair Saints (5-1) Saturday at 2 p.m.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Niagara’s men’s volleyball team (5-1) also had a perfect weekend knocking off the Cambrian Golden Shield 3-1 (25-19, 14-25, 25-22 and 27-25) and the Boreal Vipers 3-0 (25-17, 25-10 and 25-13).
“Proud of the boys this weekend and their fight. Going against Cambrian and coming back from being down in two sets is a huge show of character,” Niagara head coach Steve Stone said. “We set our sights on finishing this weekend 5-1 so we are happy with that result. Great team effort with lots of guys contributing to the wins.”
Top performers against Cambrian were: Elijah Bugiardini and Ashton Nieuwets with 11 kills; and, Carter Thurman with 31 assists.
Against Boreal: Ashton Nieuwets has 10 kills; Dryden Czenczek had six kills; and, Matthew Perron recorded 27 assists.
Gurtej Singh was named Niagara College’s male athlete of the week.
“Gurtej, another first-year student-athlete, has been making a tremendous impact on the team since walking on at tryouts,” Stone said. “His enthusiasm on and off the court allows him to bring a massive burst of energy any time he is called upon. The future is looking bright as he continues to take off and hit rockets across the court.”
Niagara hosts the St. Clair Saints (4-2) Saturday at 4 p.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
The Knights women’s basketball squad improved to 3-2 in OCAA action with a 79-56 victory over the Fanshawe Falcons.
“Going on the road always has its challenges. I really like the way the team came out and played. We were really locked into the plan and executing well,” Niagara head coach Chris Rao said. “We got some great individual performances from all of our starters. I’m happy with how our defence is trending. We need to continue to improve every day but it’s tracking well.”
Contributing to the victory were: Janee Harrison with 21 points and seven rebounds; Taryn Mitchell with 15 points, nine rebounds and four steals; Jamira Rousseau with six points, 10 assists and zero turnovers; Lexxus Bell with nine points and six boards; and, Molly Taylor with four points and 10 rebounds.
Niagara is at Conestoga (1-4) Wednesday.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Niagara’s men’s basketball team saw its OCAA record fall to 2-3 following. a 90-85 loss to the Fanshawe Falcons.
“We are definitely battling to find consistency in our game. We moved the ball better offensively today and limited our turnovers,” Niagara head coach Phil Mosley said. “Defensively, we continue to create opportunities by forcing turnovers and scoring in transition, but we need to shoot a higher percentage and focus on better shot selection. Solid performances by Khayden Stewart and rookie Jason Sache.”
Leading the way for the Knights were: Stewart with 15 points and 10 assists; Sache with 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals; Reggie Williams with 14 points; Simon Ricketts-Ewan with 12 points; and Reggie Williams with nine points and eight rebounds.
Niagara is at Conestoga (3-2) Wednesday and Canadore (0-5) Saturday.
