HAMILTON, Ont. – The Mohawk Mountaineers women's volleyball team opened a weekend series against the Sault Cougars with a hard-fought 3-1 victory on Saturday.

Mohawk dropped a tightly contested opening set despite a late rally. The Mountaineers fell behind 5-1 early before responding to take a 13-9 lead. Sault regained the advantage at 19-15 and held set point at 24-21. Mohawk erased the deficit to tie the set at 24-24, but the Cougars prevailed 29-27.

The Mountaineers bounced back in the second set, jumping out to a 12-6 lead and maintaining control throughout. Mohawk evened the match with a 25-17 win.

The third set was close early before Sault pulled ahead 16-11. Mohawk trailed 22-19 but rallied to tie the set at 23-23. The Cougars again reached set point at 24-23 and 25-24, but the Mountaineers closed strong to claim a 27-25 victory.

Sault led 19-15 in the fourth set, but Mohawk mounted another late push, tying the score at 22-22. The Mountaineers finished the match with a 25-23 win to secure the victory.

Avery McConkey (Stratford, Ont.) led Mohawk with 20 kills and four blocks. It was McConkey's second consecutive match with at least 20 kills. Olivia Rosewell (Hamilton, Ont.) added 13 kills, while Megan Battersby (Welland, Ont.) came off the bench to pace the offence with 37 assists.

Mohawk and Sault will meet again Sunday morning, with the start time moved to 10 a.m. due to the potential for a snowstorm.