New York, New York - The accolades keep coming for the BMCC women's volleyball team as they captured their first regular season title since 2008, sweeping CUNYAC opponents Queensborough C.C. and Kingsborough C.C. in four-sets in their final double dual of the season at BMCC Gymnasium. The Panthers improve to 14-5 (8-0 CUNYAC), finishing undefeated in conference play for the first time since 2008.
Sophomore Josanne Lewis (Rochester, Minnesota) came into the final double dual of the regular season tied for the single-season record for kills with 265 with Yolireisi Pichardo and set a new mark with 305 with a game-high 23 kills of it in the first match, just missing her team-leading 13th double-double by one dig. Classmate Xheni Doci (Saluzzo, Italy) recorded her 11th double-double, dishing out a game-high 27 assists to go along with 16 digs. Doci moved into second all-time in single-season history, passing Jennifer Chacon's mark of 425 from 2018 with 440 assists after dishing out a game-high 27 assists in game one while tying for a team-best with Freshman Emmanuella Aurel (Port Au Prince, Haiti) and Doci with three service aces.
Freshman Sarah Lee (Staten Island, New York) led the Panthers on the backline corralling a team-high 19 digs, while Doci and Aurel chipped in with 16 and 13 digs, respectively.
Ipek Yurttutan and Brianna Griffith led all Queensborough swingers tying a team-high with nine kills. Desiree Morales dished out a team-best 22 assists, and Rosanna Bradica placed a team-high four services. Angelica Hernandez led the Tigers on defense with a team-high 23 digs, while Griffiths recorded a team-best four blocks with three of them solo.
The Panthers jumped out an early 7-2 lead in the opening set before the Tigers responded with seven of the following nine points to cut the lead down to two, 11-9. BMCC recorded seven of the following 11 points to stretch their lead back to five again, 18-13, before QCC rolled off five consecutive points, with the last three coming on attack errors to tie it at 18. After one lead change and two ties, the Panthers grabbed eight of the final 14 points of the set to hold off the Tigers 26-24.
BMCC raced out to two seven-point leads in the second set, 15-8 and 17-10, before QCC went on an 8-0 run to take their first lead 18-17. The Panthers would return the favor rolling off eight straight points to go up two sets to none with a 25-18 victory.
The Tigers responded with a dominant third set, 25-16, before the Panthers closed out the match with a 25-15 decision to take the match 3-1.
Two Panthers put up double-doubles in the final match, and another etched her name atop the single-season program record books defensively. Sophomore Josanne Lewis (Rochester, Minnesota) uncorked a game-high 26 kills to go along with 15 digs for her team-leading 14th double-double. Classmate Xheni Doci (Saluzzo, Italy) put up her 12th double-double on the year handing out a game-high 37 assists to go along 10 digs.
Freshman Emmanuella Aurel (Port Au Prince, Haiti) led the Panthers on the backline with game-high 26 digs and set a new single-season mark for digs with 321, passing Nisha Rosario's mark of 309 set in 2018.
Aurel and Doci also tied a team-best with three service aces, and freshman Sarah Lee (Staten Island, New York) chipped in defensively with 18 digs.
Noarie Proverbs led all hitters with a team-best 11 kills, while Aneesa Leka registered a double-double distributing a team-high 13 assists to go along with 21 digs. Anastasia Bala dropped a team-best three service aces, while Ashley Flores led the Wave on defense with a team-best 22 digs.
The Wave got out fast 8-2 start before the Panthers responded with a 12-3 run to tie it at nine all and go in front for the first time, 12-11. After Kingsborough tied it up at 12, BMCC roared to a 13-3 finish to take the first set 25-15.
The Panthers got out of the gate quicker in the second set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead and never looking back, going up two games to none with a 25-16 victory. Kingsborough wouldn't go away outplaying BMCC in the third set to a 25-20 result before the Panthers took the match in the fourth set 25-18.
The Panthers begin their postseason a week from Monday in the CUNYAC CC Women's Volleyball Championship at RFK Gymnasium in Bayside, New York, on Monday, October 24. BMCC is the top seed and will look to win their first conference title since 2006 as they will take on Kingsborough Community College in the semifinals at 6 p.m. For more information, visit the BMCC Women's Volleyball Schedule Page.
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The athletic program at Borough of Manhattan Community College encompasses a total of eight varsity teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level. For the latest news on the Panthers, please visit us at https://bmccathletics.com - The official site of BMCC Athletics. Follow the Panthers on Instagram (@bmcc_athletics) and Twitter (@BMCCAthletics), and Like Us on Facebook (BMCC Athletics).
