February 7, 2026 

WELLAND, ONT: The Niagara College men's volleyball team (8-8) welcomed the St. Clair Saints (8-8) to the Simplii Financial Athletic Centre at the Welland Campus for their last game of the 2025-2026 regular season.  A tough battle saw the Knights come out victorious, winning 3-2 (set scores were 26-24, 25-21, 20-25, 24-26 and 15-12).  The Knights finish the season off in 8th place in the West and get prepared to take on the East's #1 seed, Seneca Sting. 

In a game that had all fans get their money's worth, the Saints and Knights went the distance in a full 5-set match.  The 1st set saw neither team take more than a 2-point lead at any time, with the Saints having the Knights on the brink at 24-22.  Niagara was able to pull off 4 straight points, culminating with a service ace for RJ Martin to win the first set 26-24.  The 2nd set was very similar to the 1st, where neither team wanted to give an inch and refused to let someone take a commanding lead.  The Knights were able to find some breathing room late in the set, as they scored the final 3 points to take a 2-0 set lead.  The 3rd set saw the Knights come out fired up to try to get the sweep, but the Saints had other plans in mind.  Being able to take a mid-set lead, the Saints were able to stifle Niagara's offence and hold them in check – on route to a 3rd set win.  As is the story with the first half of the game, both teams traded points to begin the set.  Similarly to the 3rd set, St. Clair was able to find themselves with a lead part way through the set – however, the Knights were able to battle back this time and bring the set to a 24-24 draw.  Unfortunately, the Saints were able to capitalize on some misplays by the Knights to win the set and force a deciding 5th set.  Niagara was determined to prevent the Saints' reverse sweep but quickly went down 8-6, as teams switched sides.  The change of views seemed to help the Knights as they were able to claw back to tie things up at 10 points apiece and ultimately take the 3-point set win, as they successfully won the game 3-2.  Jack Drummond led the Knights with 16 points on 13 kills, 4 digs, 2 service aces and 1 block.  RJ Martin and Sam Pynn combined for 26 points on 21 kills, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 1 dig.   

"I think we worked through struggles quickly in this game and didn't let runs affect us," said an excited Noah Trembly, libero for the Niagara Knights.  Trembly continued to say, "we got back to good, systematic volleyball and showed the people how the Niagara Knights can play – a perfect time to find it as we head into the playoffs." 

Niagara heads into the post-season as underdogs, taking on the East's #1 seed – the Seneca Sting (15-1).  The match is scheduled for Saturday, February 14th at Magna Hall Gymnasium (King City Campus) for 3:30pm.  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.