NIAGARA 3, MOHAWK 1

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January 14, 2016

WELLAND, Ont. - Mohawk's men's and women's volleyball teams started second semester OCAA play with defeats by the Niagara Knights in Welland, Ont., on Thursday.

The men dropped a 3-1 decision despite what head coach Matthew Schnarr described as two great weeks of training and that his team was well prepared for the match. "We played afraid to lose and need to find the heart and grittiness that wins matches. Defensively we were not executing the game plan," Schnarr said.

Set scores were 25-23, 25-18, 26-28, 25-23 for the Knights, who were led by Sameh Khodr with 20 kills.

Eric Girard had 15 kills, one service ace and two stuff blocks for the Mountaineers. Charlie Hancock had eight kills, was 57 percent efficient, and contributed two blocks.

Mohawk's record slipped to 7-3, while Niagara moved ahead of them with an 8-2 mark in the West Division.

The Mohawk women played well, but after taking the first set, lost 3-1 to Niagara (25-21, 23-25, 13-25, 21-25). Rachel Rivers led the home side with 12 kills and 17 digs.

The Mountaineers offensive star was Britt Gingrich with 12 kills, two digs and one block. The defensive star was Ales Assaf, who had 12 digs.

"This was by far our most complete match of the season," said Mohawk head coach Andy Nicholson. "We ran our game plan to perfection in three of the sets but still came up short."

Mohawk saw its record drop to 2-8, while Niagara improved to 8-2.

Both Mountaineers volleyball teams play their first home matches after the break, when Conestoga checks into the David Braley Athletic and Recreation Centre Saturday. The women hit the court at 4 p.m., followed by the men at 6 p.m.

Source: Mohawk College