Humber’s women’s volleyball team beat the Mohawk Mountaineers 3-0, maintaining a tie for first place in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) western division.
They hold a 12-2 record, tied with the nationally seventh-ranked St. Clair Saints.
The Mountaineers, however, have already clinched a spot in the playoffs, sitting in eighth with a 6-10 record, two games ahead of the Sault Cougars in ninth.
Mohawk has never won an away game against Humber, losing all 15 times they’ve faced the Hawks on home court since the 2011-2012 season.
Mohawk interim head coach Nicholas Petrella said going into the game that he was focused on controlling the aspects they can control.
“We're focusing more on our side of the court and less on the other side,” he said. “If we can execute our side, we don't have to worry about the other side.”
Petrella took over for previous head coach Jenny Pellegrino, who was relieved of her duties by the Mountaineers following a win over the Sheridan Bruins on Jan.14.
He said the team is not looking at the last couple of games from a win-loss perspective, but more of a developmental one.
“It's about developing our weaknesses, the things we need to improve on and grow on, and just narrow the gap day by day,” Petrella said.
Humber head coach Chris Wilkins said the team is also not worried about its record or finishing in the top spot in the division.
“We're worried about making sure that we're ready for playoffs, so we'll use this game to make sure that we're headed in the right direction,” he said.
The game started even, with Humber eventually finding a rhythm, leading 11-4, before Petrella would call a timeout to regroup.
After the short break, the Hawks would continue their streak, scoring the remaining 14 points to take the first set, 25-12.
In the set, Humber had 12 kills to Mohawk’s four, with fifth-year middle blocker Keyome Ellis denying a hit attempt from the Mountaineers’ Naomi Moreton to take the 1-0 lead.
Mohawk would adjust to the Hawks’ tactics and keep the second set closer, with points shared back and forth between both teams; neither team wanted to break its rhythm.
The Mountaineers took the lead three separate times in a see-saw battle, before Petrella would call a timeout with Humber leading 23-22.
First-year middle blocker Faith Hughes would make it set point with a kill immediately after the timeout.
With Mohawk desperate not find itself down two sets, Petrella would call another timeout to try and draw back the deficit.
A misjudged set attempt from fifth-year Mohawk libero Sofia Spoljar would decide the second set for the Hawks and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Going into the third set, fifth-year right side hitter Hannah Manners led Humber with 10 kills.
She would start the third with her 11th kill of the game, with the Hawks being able to maintain a three-to-four-point lead over the Mountaineers throughout the beginning of the set.
Petrella would take his fourth total timeout of the match, with Humber leading 17-12.
The Hawks would continue their domination coming out of the timeout, outscoring Mohawk 8-6, taking the third and final set to sweep the Mountaineers 3-0.
Manners finished with 27 total attempts, including 13 kills, but it was fourth-year Humber Libero Reese Cholette who took home player of the game.
Cholette finished with two assists and three digs.
She said that without her teammates, her job as a libero would be much harder.
“I can't do too much of my job if they're not helping me out, so they definitely helped me on the block today, and their swings were awesome, so passing was easy today,” Cholette said.
Wilkins said the team played with high energy and was pleased with the level of effort.
“I thought we played at a real fast tempo, which was good. I give credit to Mohawk, you know, although maybe the scores didn't reflect it, they played hard as well,” he said.
Petrella said he hopes the team can be more consistent in the final two games of the season and keep the score close.
“Our compete is what we wanted to focus on, and in the second and third sets we competed. We lost the serve and pass game, but we competed as much as we wanted to and as much as we could,” he said.
Humber played ahead to its final games of the regular season, a double header at home against the Borèal Vipères on Feb.7 and the Cambrian Golden Shield on Feb.8.
The Mountaineers will host the Niagara Knights at home on Feb.4 and will travel to London to take on Fanshawe on Feb.7.
