Varsity Update - January 31, 2011
Men's Volleyball
What a turnaround for the Mohawk men's volleyball team. Entering last week with a .500 record, the Mountaineers reeled off three straight wins to go to 8-5 and grab a share of fourth place in the OCAA West Region.
First they swept Niagara 25-14, 25-13, 25-12 at the Fennell Gymnasium (Jan. 25). Justin Scapinello led the home side with 13 kills, one service ace and one stuff block. Phil Youngblut had six kills and two blocks and Allan McGrath contributed three kills, one ace and 11 digs. Niagara saw it's record fall to 3-8.
January 28 saw an emotional straight sets win over the visiting Nipissing Lakers of North Bay. "It's been a rivalry since I played and I played against their coach." Those words from Mohawk bench boss Matt Schnarr. The scores were 25-15, 25-21, 25-22 and left the two teams tied in the standings.
"I've been waiting for us to play a complete match," declared Schnarr, who said his side was focused an executed the game plan to a 'T.' "We manipulated our opponent. That is a good team."
Mo Sulaiman paced Mohawk with nine kills, three aces and four blocks. Allan McGrath had seven kills, one ace, one block and six digs.
The resurgent Mountaineers tacked on yet another victory the following afternoon (Jan. 29). Mohawk disposed of the other North Bay college, the Canadore Panthers, 25-17, 25-20, 25-15 and improved their OCAA West Region record to 8-5. Canadore fell to 3-10.
Scapinello had 10 kills, one ace and one block for Mohawk, while Sulaiman came up with nine kills and three aces. Kevin Teskey added eight kills and one ace.
Coach Schnarr was very pleased with his team's play over the weekend, winning six straight sets. "It's the best volleyball I've seen us play all season, said Shnarr. "We executed the game plan in both matches, taking the teams right out of what they wanted to do." The coach also said his players battled hard and noted it's always tough to play one night and then the next afternoon.
Schnarr was looking forward to Tuesday night (Feb. 1) when St. Clair visits. He said his team wants to make amends for its loss to the Saints in Windsor in November.
Women's Volleyball
The Mohawk women's volleyball team won two of three matches last week and ran its record to 12-4. It started with a 3-0 victory over Niagara at the Fennell Gymnasium Jan. 25. The scores were 25-19, 25-14, 25-16.
Jennifer Knowles led the Mountaineers with 10 kills, two service aces and one stuff block. Amanda DeHaan had five kills, three aces and three blocks, while Jenna Gignac added five kills, three aces and one block.
Mohawk head coach Sean Pellow said his team continued to play well. His only concern was a loss of focus for a span of six or seven points in the third set, but he noted the team recovered pretty well.
After a sluggish start, the visiting Nipissing Lakers of North Bay came back to down the Mountaineers 11-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-20 Jan. 28.
Mohawk had a terrific opening set, both offensively and defensively, but despite hanging with the Lakers for good portions of the second and fourth games, they could not take command.
"We stopped playing with energy in the second set, said coach Pellow."We gave up a couple of points and had a couple of calls (go against us). "Pellow said his team went into the match knowing if they won they'd have a legitimate chance at finishing second in the West Region. They'll need a lot of help for that to happen now. Nipissing, currently in second place, improved to an impressive 15-1 record, while Mohawk dropped to 11-4.
Jennifer Knowles led the Mountaineers with 10 kills, four aces and two blocks. Her twin sister Jessica had 10 kills and one block.
It was back to winning ways for Mohawk the next afternoon (Jan. 29). They swept Canadore Panthers of North Bay 25-15, 25-19, 25-18. With the victory, the Mountaineers moved into a tie for third place in the OCAA West Region with Fanshawe, both with 12-4 records. Canadore fell to 7-10.
Jennifer Knowles was the top scorer for Mohawk with 13 points from 11 kills, one ace and one block. Andrea Garbaty had five kills, three aces and three blocks, while Lauren Aquilina added eight kills and one block.
The Mountaineers then prepared to meet St. Clair Tuesday (Feb. 1).
Men's Basketball
The Niagara Knights moved into a tie with the Mountaineers for third place in the OCAA West, with an 83-80 decision at the Fennell Gymnasium (Jan. 27). Both teams emerged from the game at 9-4. Aminu Bello had 21 points for Mohawk, while Alex Reis had 14. Taylor Dowhaniuk, whose scoring and rebounding has been key to the Mountaineers this season, got into foul trouble and played only 22 minutes.
"(It was a) real disappointing loss as well as we have been playing, said Mohawk head coach Brian Jonker. "We have to regroup for next Saturday (Feb. 5) when we head up to Sheridan for another big game."
Women's Basketball
The Mohawk women lost a very tough decision to Niagara, 77-75 (Jan. 27). "It was another heartbreaker, said Mountaineers' head coach Kevin Duffy. "We committed a foul with point-eight seconds left, their player hit both shots and won the game. This was after we came back to tie the game after being down seven with two minutes left. I was really proud of our kids, they just don't quit and deserve better.
Casey Boggs led Mohawk with 17 points. Tara Henschel had 12 and Rachelle Abella scored 10 points and added six assists and three steals. The Knights improved to 8-1, while the Mountaineers fell to 2-8.
"We still have a shot to make the playoffs, said Duffy. So we will forget about this game and focus on the next one against Sheridan" (Feb. 5).
Regional Badminton
The West Regional Badminton Championships take over the Fennell Gymnasium February 4-5.
Mohawk is expected to have two men's singles players, one women's single, a team of men's doubles and a mixed doubles tandem in the event. The top three finishers from each division of the competition will advance to the OCAA Championships at Fanshawe in London, February 18-19.
