Varsity Update - December 12, 2011
Men's Basketball
Mohawk completed the first half of the OCAA men's basketball season with an 87-70 verdict over Redeemer at the RUC Gym in Ancaster December 6. The Mountaineers went to the break with a 6-3 record, while the Royals dropped to 3-6. with an 82-70 win over Redeemer, which will be 3-6 when league play resumes in January.
Aminu Bello led winners with 30 points. Taylor Dowhaniuk had 16 and Manny Campbell, nine.
It was a hard fought win, according to Mohawk head coach Brian Jonker. "We had Alex Reis and Jeff Hunt go down with injuries and Manny, Andrew Cicuttini and Tanner Lane in foul trouble all night," said Jonker. "We got great contributions from Matt Cupido (6 points) and Mike Dzikic (7 rebounds). I was proud of our effort in adversity and proud of the guys for finding a way to win against a real game opponent."
Women's Basketball
Mohawk beat Redeemer 81-60 in women's basketball December 6.
The Mountaineers ended the first half of their season with a 5-4 record, while the Royals fell to 0-9.
Leading scorers for Mohawk were Daniella Randazzo with 15 points, Rachelle Abella with 14, Kayla Michaelsen and Sylvia Mosca with 10 each. "Overall it was a good team effort," said head coach Kevin Duffy. "We had 10 different players score. It was nice to end the first half above 500 and currently holding down a playoff position, considering all the injuries we have had. I am really proud at how the girls have performed. We still have a lot of work to do cause we know how competitive our league is. If we can get out to a good start in the second half we can really set ourselves up for a strong finish."
Men's Volleyball
The Mohawk men's volleyball team swept visiting Niagara 25-19, 25-20, 25-21 December 7, to complete the first half of the OCAA season with a 6-3 record.
Justin Scapinello recorded nine kills, eight service aces, one stuff block and also came through with six digs to lead the Mountaineer attack. Ian Cameron had 11 aces and five digs, Phil Youngblut contributed eight kills, two stuff blocks and two digs and Libero Andrew Ross chipped in with 12 digs.
"It was a long first semester with a busy schedule including tournaments," said Mohawk head coach Matt Schnarr. "You could see us getting tired near the end and our focus tonight wasn't so much on a game plan. It was on the passion for the game and finding the love of (the game)." Schnarr got players into the match that haven't played much all season but earned it in the training room. "It was a good match and a good first half of the season." The coach also feels his side is positioned well in third place heading into the second semester, starting in January.
Women's Volleyball
The Mohawk women's volleyball team missed a golden opportunity to score a big victory to complete first semester play. The Mountaineers, who dropped the first set to Niagara, bounced back smartly and had match point in the fourth game, but failed to seal the deal and lost in the final set to the Knights, 22-25, 25-23, 25-18, 24-26, 9-15 at the Fennell Gym.
Chi Chi Chuks-Mady led Mohawk with 11 kills, two service aces, one stuff block and 15 digs. Kristie Crnic contributed 10 kills, two aces and 14 digs. Mackenzie Lawrence scored 10 kills, two aces and seven digs and Julie Gagnon added 15 digs.
Mountaineers' head coach Andrew Nicholson said his players have to believe in themselves and understand that you need to give that last little push if you're going to win. "To their credit, they came out in the fifth set and suddenly realized hey, we've got a chance to win this. At the end of the day they realized they should be there and started to play, but it was too late unfortunately." Nicholson said defensively Mohawk was excellent and followed the game plan to perfection. Both the hitting and passing percentages were excellent, but they had trouble dealing with 6'5" Niagara Middle Marieka Ouimette and failed to handle Leftside Lindsay Murray who had 24 kills for the Knights.
Mohawk went to the break with a 2-7 record.
