January 10, 2026 

WELLAND, ONT: The Niagara College women's volleyball team (6-4) welcomed the Fanshawe Falcons (7-3) to the Simplii Financial Athletic Centre at the Welland Campus for an afternoon matchup.  Unfortunately, Fanshawe was able to come out with the clean sweep, defeating the Knights 3-0 (set scores were 18-25, 17-25, 8-25). 

With the Knights hosting their "Thumbs Down to Cancer" event, with all proceeds going to the Walker Family Cancer Centre, they were looking to start the year off with a win.  Off to a slow start, the Knights found themselves trailing early on and having to fight hard to get back into the set.  Getting to within a point in the middle of the set, the Knights couldn't muster up enough momentum to take a lead, allowing Fanshawe to take the first set.  The second set had both teams trading points before the Falcons were able to go on a run and force an early Knights timeout at 5-11.  Determined to make a comeback, the Knights made some big plays but couldn't get within striking distance to put the pressure on the Falcons as they headed into the 3rd set down 2-0.  In the 3rd set, nothing was going right for the Knights as the Falcons were able to close out the game and complete the sweep.  Charlize Trudell led the Knights with 8 points on 7 kills and a service ace.  Abbey Gooder followed closely behind with 6 points of her own on 4 kills, while adding in 4 digs, a block, an assist and a service ace.  Amy Barlow and Tess Kelly combined for 7 points on 4 kills, 3 blocks and 3 digs. 

After the game, Steve Stone had very little to say.  "We came out flat and Fanshawe came ready to play today."  Stone continued to say that "we'll take some time to reflect before we go into this week of practice and then we can start preparing for our road trip next weekend – we have a few little things to clean up but I know we'll be ready." 

The Knights head north as they try to get back into the win column, taking on the Cambrian Shield (6-3) and Boreal Vipers (0-9) in a weekend affair.  Game times are set for 6pm on Saturday, January 17th and 1pm on Sunday, January 18th.  Be sure to catch all the action on OCAA Live to keep cheering on your Knights. 

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