Geoff Buncombe
SPORTS REPORTER
PHOTO COURTESY OF HUMBER ATHLETICS // Hawks setter Nina Carino positions the ball for a spike against the Mohawk Mountaineers last week.
The Hawks women’s volleyball team remains undefeated through eight games after a home court sweep of the Mohawk Mountaineers on Dec. 3.
“We took charge,” said Hawk Teresa George, 23, a paralegal student. “We played on another level that we haven’t been playing at this season.”
The Hawks entered the match ranked first in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association and fifth in the country, losing only four sets all season.
Humber dominated the first set, executing offensively and defensively en route to a 25-11 win. The second set was much of the same, with the Hawks taking an early lead and then holding off a late push from the Mountaineers to take the set 25-19.
The Hawks second unit was out to start the third set and trailed early before settling down and taking a slim lead over the Mountaineers. Mohawk fought back hard, but Humber maintained a six-point lead for the majority of the game and took the deciding set 25-19.
“Practice has been the key to success,” said Hawk Nina Carino, 21, a fourth-year early childhood education student. “How we practise determines how we play.”
Hawk Kelly Nyhof, the team’s top offensive performer this season, was named player of the match.
Nyhof has been averaging 3.9 points per set, enough for fifth in the OCAA.
Hawks head coach Chris Wilkins said his entire line-up has the skill to produce points, giving him the advantage of resting key players without sacrificing the team’s ability to attack.
“Our depth is what continues to make our program strong,” said Wilkins. “As long as we have the type of players that keep coming into Humber I think we’ll be alright.”