Day One of the 2018 belairdirect OCAA Women’s Volleyball Championships began with an afternoon showdown between the Fanshawe Falcons and the Niagara Knights.
Fanshawe finished second in the OCAA West with a 14-4 record and won their crossover matchup in London, Ont., when they beat the Canadore Panthers in four sets (25-17, 24-26, 25-20, 25-20).
Meanwhile, Niagara finished sixth in the OCAA West with a 11-7 record and headed to Ottawa to face off against the Algonquin Thunder in their crossover matchup. The Knights came back from down two sets to win in five sets (23-25, 20-25, 25-12, 27-25, 15-8).
And talk about deja vu for these Knights as they were once again down two sets but overcame that deficit and upset the Falcons in five sets (18-25, 17-25, 26-24, 26-24, 15-10) to advance to the semifinals.
“I’m so proud of the girls. “They had so many chances in that match to give up but just kept chipping away,” Knights head coach Nathan Janzen said. It took a long time for us to get into the groove but I’m so proud of the girls for staying with it, being patient and in the end, it paid off for us.”
Jordan Koslowski was exceptional as she finished with a team high 18 points on 15 kills and was named Player of the Game for the Knights.
“She was an All-Canadian last year and has earned the right to get the ball when the whole gym knows that she’s going to get the ball; she’s used to that kind of pressure,” Janzen said. “She came through and in big moments, your best player has to be your best player. And she was absolutely our best player today.”
Natasha Desjardins finished with 10 points on seven kills and two aces while Melissa McFadden dished out a team high 33 assists and Tamara Edwards had three blocks. Ainsleigh Williams had 17 digs to lead Niagara.
“Nat was huge today; I’m so proud of her. All year long, we’ve been working on her attacking but all the other parts of her game are incredible,” Janzen said. “She’s a great server, defender and passer; for her to come through in big moments for us offensively, it was special to watch.”
Meanwhile, for Fanshawe, Meghan Morelli led all scorers with 20 points on a game high 17 kills and two aces; Morelli was named Player of the Game for the Falcons.
Mattea Deleary had 15 points on 13 kills while Darian Gropp dished out a game high 39 assists and Ainsley Acton had a game high three blocks. Lindsay Wilcox finished with a game high 18 digs in defeat.
The first set saw Morelli hit a pair of aces as Fanshawe went on a 4-0 run to take an 8-5 lead but Niagara responded with a 6-2 run, capped off by a kill from Amy Bultje. However, a kill from Morelli sparked another 4-0 run from the Falcons and this time, they held Niagara at bay as Knights head coach Nathan Janzen was forced to burn both of his timeouts.
An ace from Jaime McKee ended the set, 25-18, in favour of Fanshawe. Morelli had seven points in the first set alone.
The second set saw Niagara take an early 5-3 lead but three consecutive errors on the offensive end forced Janzen to call timeout. Although the Knights tied the set at seven, the Falcons blew the set open, going on a 16-6 run and they eventually took the second set by a score of 25-17.
Fanshawe became their own worst enemy to start off the third set as five of Niagara’s first six points of the set were off of errors. The Knights were up 12-11 when the Falcons went on another 4-0 run, capped off by a kill from Morelli.
The Knights, however, were not going down quietly as they went on an 8-3 run to take a 20-18 lead. Fanshawe then scored six of the next nine points and had a chance to win the match but three straight points from Niagara, including consecutive kills from Desjardins and Edwards, forced a fourth set as the Knights won, 26-24.
Determined to end the match, Fanshawe started the fourth set on a 12-7 run but once again, Niagara kept chipping away until they eventually tied the set at 18, after a kill from Koslowski. Both teams then exchanged the next 12 points as the set was tied at 24 but the Knights scored the next two points to take the fourth set, 26-24, forcing a deciding fifth set.
The Falcons scored three of the first four points before the Knights scored four of the next six points. A kill from Rivers, however, sparked Niagara on a 6-2 run as Falcons head coach Sean Pallow burned two of his timeouts. After a kill from Ainsley Acton cut the Knights’ lead to 14-10, Desjardins ended the match with a kill as Niagara completed the comeback, winning the fifth set, 15-10.
The Knights play the winner of the matchup between the Sheridan Bruins and the Loyalist Lancers in tomorrow’s semifinals, which is at 6:00pm. Fanshawe awaits to play the loser of the quarterfinal game between the Bruins and the Lancers; that game will start tomorrow afternoon at 1:00pm.