January 28, 2026 

WELLAND, ONT: The Niagara College men's volleyball team (6-7) played host to the Redeemer Royals (7-7) Wednesday evening, as the Knights looked to get back into the win column after a loss last week.  Unfortunately, a win just wasn't in the cards for Niagara as Redeemer was able to head home with a 3-1 win (set scores were 20-25, 23-25, 25-19 and 14-25). 

The Knights gave up an early lead to start the match but were able to battle back to keep things close throughout the set.  Unfortunately, the Royals were able to pull away late in the set, increasing their lead to as many as 5 points, before winning the first set.  In the 2nd set, the Knights were able to flip the script and take the early lead – forcing Redeemer to find the strength to fight back.  A mid-set timeout by the Royals proved to be key in changing the flow of the set as they were able to stifle Niagara's offense, putting the Knights into a big 2-0 set deficit.  In the 3rd set, the Knights came out with a new mentality and refused to end the night early, putting Redeemer on their heels as they took a lead that they wouldn't give up.  To begin the 4th set, Niagara looked poised to push the match to a deciding 5th set.  However, the Royals were able to find another gear as they put Niagara in a big hole that they weren't able to climb out of – ultimately defeating the Knights 3-1.  Jack Drummond was tied as the games' leading scorer with 12 points on 9 kills, 2 blocks, 1 dig and 1 service ace.  Sam Guzak followed closely behind with 9 points on 8 kills, 1 dig and 1 service ace, while RJ Martin contributed 7 points on 5 kills and 2 blocks. 

"Going down 2-0 right away is tough to come back from," said Steve Stone, head coach of the Niagara Knights.  Stone continued to say "we didn't make the adjustments that we needed to throughout the game and it ultimately hurt us in the long run.  The boys came out in the 3rd set, stuck to the game plan and executed – we just lost our focus a bit in the 4th and it cost us the game." 

Niagara will have a short turnaround as they get ready to host the Sheridan Bruins (2-11) in a Saturday afternoon matchup, scheduled for 1pm at the Simplii Financial Athletic Centre at the Welland Campus.  If you aren't able to catch the action in person, be sure to tune into OCAA Live so you don't miss anything. 

For more information on the Knights' teams, please visit us at www.goknights.ca.