November 2, 2024
WELLAND, ON: The Niagara College men's volleyball team (2-2) took on the Fanshawe Falcons (3-2) at home in the Simplii Financial Athletic Centre Saturday night. The game bounced back and forth between sides in a thrilling affair being decided by a 5th set in which the Knights fell short in a win-by-two situation. After making several clutch plays to keep the game alive the Knights could not get the job done and lost in heartbreaking fashion. Set scores were 25-18, 17-25, 17-25, 25-17 and 18-20.
In an all-around tight game, the Knights played very well as a team and showed a lot of passion throughout all five sets. With this match being so intense and not having a dull moment, Matthew Perron, the second-year setter, kept his composure throughout the game and produced 30 assists, 5 digs and a remarkable 4 service aces. Perron's setting ability gave his teammates great opportunities to score points and win 2 sets. Mitch Churipuy, the third-year outside hitter, showed a ton of determination tonight by producing an incredible 15 digs, 9 kills, and 2 service aces as his effort gave the team a huge spark throughout the entirety of the game.
After speaking with the Knights captain, Micah Nieuwets, who is a fourth-year player and has shown great leadership so far this year, when asked about his thoughts on how the team played tonight, he answered "yeah, unfortunate result but I think the team overall played well - a couple of mistakes in a couple sets that ultimately led to the loss but I can't complain. The boys put it all on the line and it was a great game through and through". When asked what the team looks to do for the next game Nieuwets explained "we will watch this game back and figure out a couple of those things that we want to do, it's not like we played bad this game they just got the better of us. So, we will come back stronger and Wednesday we will go get Sheridan". A lot of positivity coming from the captain which is always a good sign.
The Knights (2-2) will look to improve their record and get back into the win column this Wednesday, November 6th where they will be facing the Sheridan Bruins (3-2) on the road. The Knights will be sure to come out hungry for a win, especially after this weekend's devastating loss where they learned a lot about themselves and how well they can respond to adversity.
