November 26, 2025
WELLAND, ONT: The Niagara College women's volleyball team (6-3) faced off against the Mohawk Mountaineers (1-6) Wednesday evening in the last match of 2025 for the Knights. Finally able to break their 3-game losing streak, the Knights were able to sweep the Mountaineers and send the fans home happy before heading into the Christmas break (set scores were 25-19, 27-25 and 25-23).
The Knights came into this match with a renewed energy, determined to head into the mid-season break on a good note. Trading points back and forth to begin the set, the Knights found their footing as they took a 4-point lead mid-set and would carry that momentum forward for the 6-point set victory. In the second set, leads were changing every few points as neither team wanted to give this pivotal set up – even going to extra points, where a service ace from Tess Kelly gave the Knights a 2-0 set lead. The Mountaineers put up a big fight in the 3rd set, again taking an early lead. However, the fire power late in the set for the Knights was ultimately too much to handle for Mohawk as Niagara went on to sweep the match. It was a complete team effort in this match as 9 players scored points for the Knights, led by Keira Virostek, Abbey Gooder and Sam Cormier with 9 points each. The three also combined for 11 digs, 2 blocks and 3 aces. Charlize Trudell entered the game in the 3rd set and made a huge impact, accumulating 6 points on 4 kills, 5 digs, 1 block and an ace.
After the game, we caught up with Gooder to get her thoughts on the match. "This was an amazing win going into the break," Gooder gleamed with excitement. She continued to say that the team "played with good control and great energy - we can't wait to get started in the winter term." Before heading into the locker room, Gooder also shared their apparent team motto for the year, "THUMBS DOWN!" - relating back to the days of the Colosseum and channeling their inner gladiator.
The Knights go into the mid-season break with a 6-3 record and sit in the middle of the standings of an extremely crowded OCAA west division. Niagara is back in action on Saturday, January 10, 2026, when they welcome the Fanshawe Falcons (6-2) to the Simplii Financial Athletic Centre at the Welland Campus – first serve is set for 1pm. We hope to see all you Knights fans in the new year and if you are unable to attend in person, 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.
