Sault College drops a pair to Niagara

NEWS RELEASE

SAULT COLLEGE ATHLETICS

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OCAA Women’s Volleyball

In Friday night OCAA women’s volleyball action the Sault College Cougars were back on the floor playing host to the Niagara College Knights.

The Cougar faithful were treated to an excellent display of volleyball in the first set as the offence power of Niagara was met head on with the gritty defence of the Lady Cougars. Furious rallies of non stop action saw the lead continuously being traded back and forth between the two teams with the Cougars just falling short in the dying services of the first set by a score of 25-20.

The second set was a tale of a different Cougar squad as they never recovered from the first set lost and the Niagara women took advantage of this; besting the Sault College women 25-10.

The third set saw are continually improving cougars fight back tooth and nail to make it a contest. Much like the first set the pace was fast and defence was stellar as the Cougars gave the Niagara women more then they bargained for. In a set that kept the crowd on their feet for the full length, the taller Niagara team stole the final few points to take the set 25-17.

Strong individual performances were given by Sault College power hitters Michela Szatanski and Kelly Roussell with 6 and 5 points respectively while the offence of Niagara was led by veterans Leah Duke and Jaclyn Van Leerzem with 9 and 7 points each.

The Cougar women are right back at it playing host to St. Clair College at 1 pm Saturday afternoon.

OCAA Men’s Basketball

After a week of rest and a busy previous weekend road trip to Toronto the Sault College men’s basketball was back in familiar surroundings playing host to Niagara College in OCAA West region action.

The young Cougar team had their hands full with a veteran Niagara squad who have been one of the OCAA top teams this season.

The gritty Cougars spent the first half in a see-saw battle matching the Knights offence basket for basket in an entertaining and exhilarating display of college basketball at its best. The Cougar men stared straight at the powerful Niagara team without flinching and flexing their own basketball muscle. The capacity crowd showed their approval cheering the teams as they left the floor with the Knights up by 8.

The second half was another example of a veteran squad capitalizing on the inexperience of a young team; with Niagara scoring in runs against the never say quit Cougars. The Cougar men closed the gap to a mere 7 points but in the end the Knights were just too much for the host as they closed out the final minutes building a 20 point lead for a final score of 89-69.

The Cougar men were led by local products Jay Ripplinger and Aaron Richards with 23 and 18 points apiece while the Knights high scorers were Brendan Cato and fifth year veteran Anthony McAleese with 16 and 13 each.

The Cougar men hope to bounce back tomorrow afternoon at 3 PM when they play host to St. Clair College at the Sault College Athletic Facility.

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