HAMILTON, Ont. – The Mohawk Mountaineers women's volleyball team honoured seven graduating student-athletes Wednesday night before their match against the Niagara Knights.

Sofia Spoljar (Hamilton, Ont.), Ashley Gibbons (Hamilton, Ont.), Maggie Galand (Burlington, Ont.), Naomi Moreton (Hamilton, Ont.), Olivia Rosewell (Hamilton, Ont.), Megan Battersby (Welland, Ont.) and Avery McConkey (Stratford, Ont.) were recognized in a pre-game ceremony.

Mohawk then fell 3-1 to Niagara.

The Knights jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the opening set and went on to win 25-12.

In the second set, Mohawk again trailed early at 10-4. The Mountaineers closed the gap to two, but Niagara pulled away for a 25-15 win.

Mohawk responded in the third set, keeping the deficit close and tying the score at 20-20 late. The Mountaineers earned set point at 24-22 and won the next rally to extend the match.

Niagara opened the fourth set with an 8-2 run. Mohawk tied it at 14-14 and the teams traded points down the stretch. The Knights reached match point at 24-22, but the Mountaineers fought off one point to make it 24-23.

On Niagara's second match point, a swing by Gibbons was ruled a no-touch on the block, giving the Knights the 3-1 victory.

McConkey led Mohawk with 14 kills, while Battersby recorded 32 assists. Spoljar finished with 20 digs, bringing her career total to 667 – second all-time in program history.

The Mountaineers will close the regular season Feb. 7 against the Fanshawe Falcons at 1 p.m. in London, Ont.

Mohawk is locked into the eighth seed in the OCAA West Division and will likely face the No. 3 nationally ranked Seneca Sting, the top seed in the OCAA East (14-0), in the first round of the playoffs.