The Niagara College Knights women’s volleyball team split a pair of matches last week falling 3-0 to Humber (12-25, 17-25 and 11-25) and recording a 3-0 (25-18, 25-17 and 25-14) sweep of Fanshawe.

Leading the way for Niagara against Humber were: Rachael Bickford with eight assists and three digs; Montanna Taylor with 17 attacks, five aces, five kills, five assists, a block and seven digs; and, Hannah Cowie with five kills and a block.

“It was a valuable learning experience for us going up against the undefeated powerhouse, Humber Hawks. We learned a lot about our ability to face adversity, show resilience as a team and the importance of never giving up,” Niagara head coach Elaine Pilgrim-Susi said. “We will use this opportunity to refine our skills and come back stronger when we face them again in the new year. There are still a lot of games to be played in the season and we are looking forward to the successes that lie ahead.”

Taylor was named player of the game.

“Montanna showed fierce competitiveness in our game against Humber,” she said.

Performing well for Niagara against Fanshawe were: Tess Kelly with eight kills, an assist, a block and seven digs; Taylor with 26 assists, five kills, six digs and two blocks; and, Hope Nicholson with 10 kills and nine digs.

“I am extremely proud of how our team approached today’s game, confident and ready to win. We established our middles early and dominated at the net. Improving our serving and serve receive were our focus for today and we were successful in both areas,” Pilgrim-Susi said. “We head into the holidays with a 7-4 record and I know we will continue to build on our success in the new year. Tess Kelly showed great tenacity at the net, made some smart plays at key moments, and was a strong server making her our player of the game.”

Taylor was named Niagara’s female athlete of the week with a combined 31 assists, 13 kills, 13 digs and three blocks against Humber and Fanshawe. The Eden product surpassed 1,000 career assists during the game against Fanshawe.

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