February 14, 2022... WELLAND - After a nearly two year hiatus from Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) play, the Niagara Knights women's volleyball team was back in action for a weekend double header at home against Boreal College and Cambrian College.
Friday night saw the women open the 2022 campaign at home at the Welland Campus Centre against the Boreal Vipers. While excitement was in the air for the return of varsity sports for athletes and coaches alike, the absence of spectators was noticeably felt as the starting line-ups were read aloud. The OCAA currently has a no spectators policy in place at until at least February 21.
The Knights handled the Vipers with ease sweeping all three sets (25-7, 25-15, 25-14) to tally their first win of the condensed 2022 season.
Head coach Tommy Sloan, currently serving as head coach for both the men and women, thought his team played well considering the amount of time that has passed since their last exhibition game in early December.
"I thought we were aggressive from the service line which gave us plenty of opportunities to control rallies," said Sloan. "We were very efficient on offence and controlled the pace of play. We passed really well and Rachael Bickford ran a great offence. We passed the ball very well and our veterans set the tone with their high energy."
Sloan's veterans include fourth year Welland native Natasha Desjardins, third year Madelyn Berg and fourth year Ottawa native Kendra Adams.
Saturday afternoon's match-up against Cambrian College proved to be more of a challenge for the blue and white. The Golden Shield were fresh off a 3-2 win against Redeemer Friday night and set the tone early for their battle with Niagara, winning the first set 17-25. unfortunately the Knights were not able to muster a set win, and the Golden Shield went on to sweep Niagara 3-0 (17-25, 20-25, 15-25).
The loss dropped the Knights to 1-1 in their opening weekend while Cambrian moved to 2-0.
"We felt a somewhat disjointed right from the start," said Sloan. It was unfortunate to see some of the confidence and swagger gained last night turn into indecision and passiveness. Cambrian were able to continuously put pressure on us, and we are still working on learning how to deal with that. There were moments in there that showed what we are capable of, but we have some work to do to turn those moments into our identity."
The Knights will look ahead to this Thursday's match-up against the neighboring Mohawk College Mountaineers (2-0) at home for game three of their 9 game season.
For full results, schedules, and roster, please visit goknights.ca
