By: Julian Orlando

After losing the first set of the match, Mohawk Mountaineers women's volleyball settled in to beat the Conestoga Condors 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-16).

Mohawk entered the match with an 8-7 record, battling for the fourth seed in the OCAA West and a possible home playoff game. With the win and the Niagara Knights losing to the Humber Hawks, the Mountaineers continue to be in the hunt for that home game with two games remaining.

In the opening set of the match, Mohawk started to find their game late and carried the momentum into the second. While the Condors stuck around, the Mountaineers held the lead for a majority of the final three sets to earn the win.

Head coach Kelsey Kovar said the change after the first set for Mohawk included limiting the mistakes.

"We had to minimize our errors," Kovar said. "In that first set we had quite a few service errors, we hit quite a few balls out and it was still pretty tight. We shifted in the second set and improved from there."

Kovar sees the win – against a Conestoga team that entered the match with the second-best record in the OCAA West – as a major lift to the team's spirit as the regular season winds down.  

"Conestoga is definitely a strong team and they are having a really good season, but we played to our game-plan and played how we wanted," Kovar said. "Winning against Conestoga is a great confidence boost."

Mohawk will have an opportunity to inch closer to that fourth seed in the division on Feb. 4 when they play the Niagara Knights – who currently hold the fourth spot. The match will be played in Welland, ON at 1 p.m.

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