By: Julian Orlando 

Mohawk Mountaineers women's volleyball started the 2022 season with two road victories over the Cambrian Golden Shield and Boreal Vipers.

The Mountaineers are coming off a season where they won an OCAA silver medal, but this year are under new leadership with first-year head coach Kelsey Kovar,

In the first game versus Cambrian, Mohawk got off to a slow start losing the first set but bounced back to win 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-19)/

The Mountaineers had four players with eight kills in the match, while setter Yvonne Mann (Kitchener, ON) assisted on 28 plays and led the way with 10 digs.

In the second match, Mohawk swept Boreal 3-0 (25-7, 25-13, 25-23).

Sofia Spoljar (Hamilton, ON) and Ashley Gibbons (Hamilton, ON) both had a team-leading seven kills, respectively. Irene Jaramillo (Manizales, CO) added six kills.

First-year Chelsea Vanderwal (Waterdown, ON) led the team with 24 assists and five aces.

Kovar explained what it meant to get out to a 2-0 start for Mohawk.

"It feels amazing to come out of this weekend with two wins under our belts," Kovar said. "This is always a tough road trip and I'm proud of the team for fighting and getting it done in both games."

Jaramillo, a second-year athlete for the Mountaineers, said the team felt good following the weekend.

"Winning on the road is always good," Jaramillo said. "The team is excited but we need to keep focused to get the result we want during the season."

Kovar commented on what needs to be done to keep the success going this year.

"There is always stuff to improve on and the great thing about this team is they are self-aware and are working on keeping each other accountable," Kovar said. "If we stay consistent with that and continue to deliver with our ball control, we can do some pretty great things this season."

Mohawk will continue on the road to begin the season as they play the Sheridan Bruins on Oct. 29 at 1 p.m.

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