Weekend Sports Recap (Feb 10-11) | St. Clair College
Monday, February 12, 2018
Saints Athletics

St. Clair Men's Volleyball End Regular Season with Two Big Wins

(Windsor, Ontario) - The St. Clair College men’s volleyball team wrapped up their OCAA regular season with two big wins at home on the weekend.

On Friday night, the Saints took on the Mohawk Mountaineers and came away with a convincing 3-0 win. It was a must win game to guarantee the Saints a playoff spot. Game scores for St. Clair were 26-24, 25-15 and 25-15. Jared Niziolek (Windsor) had a solid game with 7 kills, 3 stuff blocks and 6 digs. Ubert Batista (Panama) also had a good match with 5 kills, 3 stuff blocks, 1 service ace and 1 dig. The loss dropped Mohawk’s record to 6-10 on the year.

On Saturday, the Saints took on the Conestoga Condors and came away with a thrilling 3-2 win. Game scores for St. Clair were 32-30, 18-25, 22-25, 25-21 and 15-6. The loss moved Conestoga’s record to 7 wins and 10 losses on the season. The Condors are currently ranked 10th in the OCAA. Niziolek led the way offensively with 14 kills, 1 stuff block, 1 service ace and 10 digs. Setter Robert Carter (Wallacetown) had a great game dishing out 53 assists spreading the ball around well while also picking up 1 kill, 2 service aces, 2 stuff blocks and 12 digs.

The St. Clair men end the regular season with a record of 10-8 which is tied for 4th place in the tough OCAA West Division. The St. Clair men are currently ranked 7th in the OCAA. However, due to tiebreakers they will finish 5th and go on the road for a playoff game next weekend against the 4th place team in the East Division. The winner of that match will advance to the OCAA Championship in Barrie the following weekend.

Women's Volleyball End Up in 3rd Place

(Windsor, Ontario) – The St. Clair College women’s volleyball team wrapped up their OCAA regular season with a split at home this weekend.

On Friday night, the Saints took on the Mohawk Mountaineers and suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss. After struggling and losing the first two sets the Saints bounced back to take the next two sets but came up just short in the fifth set. Game scores for Mohawk were 25-21, 25-20, 22-25, 9-25 and 15-13. Kaila Crough (Tecumseh) led the way offensively with 15 kills, 3 service aces, 1 stuff block and 6 digs. Jessica Masse (Cottam) also had a solid match with 14 kills, 5 stuff blocks and 5 digs. The St. Clair women are currently ranked 2nd in Ontario and 13th in Canada. The win improved Mohawk’s record to 10-6. The Mountaineers were ranked 6th in the OCAA heading into the match.

On Saturday, the Saints took on the Conestoga Condors and came away with a solid 3-0 win. Game scores for St. Clair were 25-13, 25-17, and 26-24. Kiana Gelissen (LaSalle) had a solid match with 5 kills, 2 stuff blocks and 1 service ace in 2 sets played. Andie Suthers (Tecumseh) also chipped in with 6 kills in 2 sets played. The loss dropped Conestoga’s record to 3-14 on the season.

The women ended the regular season with a record of 13-5 which is good for 3rd place in the tough OCAA West Division. The Saints will now host the Georgian Grizzlies (Barrie, ON), who finished 6th in the East Division on Saturday, February 17th at 7 pm at the Sportsplex. The winner of the match will advance to the OCAA Championship in Toronto the following weekend.

St. Clair College Basketball Split with Niagara

(Windsor, Ontario) - The St. Clair College Women’s Basketball team (10-7) fell victim to Niagara College (Welland) losing by a score of 80-73 at the SportsPlex Sunday afternoon and missed any chance of earning a home playoff game. Niagara moved themselves into 4th place alone to take control of the final home playoff game position using strong play early and late in Sunday’s pivotal matchup. St. Clair fell behind by ten points in early stages but closed to within 20-16 after the opening quarter. The Lady Saints spring boarded into the second quarter on a 13-point run as part of a 31 point output to lead 47-38 at the break. Niagara regained their composure in the third quarter but saved their best for the fourth quarter outscoring St. Clair 23-9 down the stretch. The teams both made 9 triples in the game but Niagara capitalized to score 29 points off 22 Saints turnovers while shooting a better percentage in the game.

Saints 5th year forward Shannon Kennedy (Windsor, ON/St. Joseph’s) fell just two points shy of the OCAA all-time career scoring mark with 19 points. But she made her presence felt with 10 rebounds on her way to a double-double adding 4 steals and 3 blocked shots. Jana Kucera (Chatham, ON) scored 16 points to with 5 rebounds but fouled out in the fourth quarter. Jaimi Chauvin (Wallaceburg, ON) and Logan Kucera (Chatham, ON) each chipped in with 11 points for the St Clair.

The St. Clair College Men’s Basketball team (7-10) pulled a bit of stunner Sunday afternoon at the SportsPlex upending Niagara College (Welland) by the score of 88-86. Niagara (11-7) sits in 4th Place in the West but has an automatic bid to the provincials being hosted at their campus. The Saints managed to stay ahead 21-19 on a buzzer beater triple by Glynn Willis-Paris (Windsor, ON/Kennedy Collegiate) at the end of the first quarter. The teams traded punches in the second quartet but the Saints stayed ahead 46-45 by halftime. St. Clair made a bid to pull away in the third quarter holding as much as a 10-point lead but Niagara closed the gap and only trailed 67-64 entering the fourth quarter. The see-saw affair continued throughout the contest which included 15 lead changes and 12 ties. St. Clair thought they had the game under control with a few minutes to go with an 84-78 advantage. But Niagara came right back to put themselves up 86-85. With about 1:20 left in the game a scrambled possession put the ball in the hands of Saints guard Juwan Lynch (Windsor, ON/Kennedy) on the left wing and he banked in the game’s final points. Niagara had several attempts in the last minute but either turned the ball over or could not convert.

47 fouls were committed in the game that saw both teams make a good percentage from the free throw line. St. Clair however came out ahead making 80% on their 30 attempts while Niagara made 70% of their 37 attempts. The Saints did make 8 triples to just 4 for the visitors to create some separation statistically in the game.

Jermaine Lynch (Windsor, ON/JL Forster) once again led St. Clair in scoring with 16 of his 23 points coming at the charity stripe. But Lynch also dished out 10 assists for the double-double. Nik Veigli (Cottam, ON/Essex District) and Gil Atencio (Panama City, Panama) each also reached double figures for the Saints scoring 16 points apiece.