NIAGARA 3, DURHAM 1

NORTH BAY, Ont. - Niagara made a statement on Friday night; it was ready to battle!

The Knights rallied and fought off several ferocious comebacks by Durham, in the second and third sets to win their semi-final over the Lords 3-1 (25-21, 25-27, 25-21, 27-25).

The first set saw several lengthy rallies with Niagara not surrendering the lead and building on that momentum. Durham responded by winning the second set by two points, but just could not build on that momentum in the third and at one point trailed by as much as 11.

"We were flat, we just played with Niagara and they were just executing better than we were," said Durham head coach Tony Clarke.

Niagara's Leanna Davis made some highlight reel blocks and kills which helped energize her team.

"Everyone was on the point and this was a huge win. Everyone came together. We played really great. We were a real team out there tonight."

Player of the game honours for Niagara went to Rachel Rivers, who had 42 attacks and six service aces.

Niagara head coach Ray Sarkis was complimentary on how his opponent played in the semi-final.

"You got to give Durham a lot of credit. They never folded, but at the same time my girls hung in there and they came through."

Jessica Broad received player of the game honours for Durham. She had 14 kills and five service aces in the losing cause.

Niagara plays in Saturday's final against the winner of Humber versus Fanshawe.

Source: Canadore College