Women's Volleyball | 10/21/2022 2:34:00 PM
New York, New York - After posting one of the best regular seasons in program history, the BMCC women's volleyball team was rewarded, headlined by sophomore Josanne Lewis (Rochester, Minnesota) being selected as the CUNYAC CC Women's Volleyball Player of the Year and Head Coach Nia Bell earning Coach of the Year honors. In addition, classmate Xheni Doci (Saluzzo, Italy) and freshman Emmanuella Aurel (Port Au Prince, Haiti) were also recognized as CUNYAC CC Women's Volleyball All-Stars. Underclassman Amy Criollo (Queens, New York) landed on the sportsmanship team.
Lewis has put together one of the greatest individual seasons in BMCC women's volleyball history since arriving in Downtown Manhattan from Rochester, Minnesota. The 2022 NJCAA Region XV Player of the Year and an NJCAA All-Region 15 First Team selection earlier this week entered last night's matchup with a single-season record of 305 kills after surpassing Yolireisi Pichardo's previous best of 265 over the weekend. Lewis uncorked a new single-game record and career-high 38 kills in the Region 15 quarterfinals during a four-set victory over Kingsborough C.C. to stretch her total to 343 kills for the season, which is also second-most in program history. Her second 30-plus kill performance surpassed her previous single-game best of 30 kills that she registered back in September against Dutchess C.C..
The five-time CUNYAC Player of the Week honoree has been a double-double machine for the Panthers with a team-high 15 this season while sitting second in the country in kills per set with 5.20. Lewis has also done it for the Panthers on the backend, grabbing 274 digs which are third on the team and fourth most in a single season. The Minnesota native has recorded 15 double-digit dig games, with seven in her last eight contests.
In her first season as head coach, Bell made an immediate impact leading the Panthers to one of the best starts in a decade at 9-3 with a program-best eight-game winning streak while guiding BMCC to a perfect 8-0 record against CUNYAC opponents and 14 Region 15 victories, one of the best totals in the past decade.
Doci and Aurel garnered CUNYAC All-Star accolades for their performances this season. Doci, the first Panther in school history to be named NJCAA Division III National Offensive Player of the Week earlier this season and a CUNYAC Player of the Week selection, earned her NJCAA All-Region 15 Second Team selection grabbing after First Team All-Region 15 honors in 2021 at FIT. The transfer quarterbacked the Panther offense by distributing a team and career-high 485 assists during the 2022 season. Her total surpassed Jennifer Chacon's of 425 for the second most in a single season and Lukolic Medina's total of 418 for fourth all-time in program history.
Doci's serving prowess helped her grab the national headlines early in the season for the Panthers as she placed a career-high 21 service aces against Bronx Community College, breaking Jennifer Chacon's mark of 15 registered against Sullivan County Community College on September 29, 2018.
Although Aurel smashed her record later in the season, Doci placed a team-high 81 service aces this season, surpassing Tanaya Vinson's single-season mark of 77 from 2008 and surpassing Stela Vaso for eighth all-time.
On the defensive side of the court, she has corralled 201 digs this season which is 7th most in a single season and 13th all-time. She also dished out a team-best 16 double-digit assist performances with a career-high 45 assists last night against Kingsborough in the Region 15 quarterfinals to go along with six 30-assist performances and recorded 20 or more assists in 15 matches.
Aurel, a recently named NJCAA Division III Defensive Player of the Week and NJCAA All-Region 15 Second Team selection, has been the heart and soul of the Panther's backline this season, corralling a team-high and single-season record 346 digs. She surpassed Nisha Rosario's single-season mark of 309 from 2018 last week in the Panther's sweep of QCC and KCC in the final double dual of the season. Her totals are also second most in program history, passing Thelma Torre's 310 career digs from 2006 to 2007.
The five-time CUNYAC CC Weekly honoree (Four Rookies of the Week and Player of the Week) from Port Au Prince, Haiti, has held it down in the back row for the Panthers, leading them with 15 double-digit dig games this season. In addition, she posted a career-high 39 digs in a five-set comeback victory early in the season against Region 15 opponent Dutchess Community College back in September.
She also leads BMCC with 27 blocks defensively in the front row while contributing offensively with 130 kills, 106 assists, and 54 service aces which are all good for second on the team. Aurel set a single-game program record for service aces this month against Bronx Community College with 23 service aces, surpassing teammate Doci's 21 from the previous month against the Broncos. She also recorded a career-high 12 kills last in a major Region 15 victory over FIT in four sets.
Criollo was a major vocal leader for the Panthers this season posting 34 digs, and 24 kills to date.
The Panthers come into their first Region 15 semifinals match for the first time since 2017 as the second seed. They will face third seed Dutchess Community College in a rematch of an epic five-set thriller from earlier this season on Saturday, October 20, at noon in Middletown, New York. The winner of that match plays for the 2022 Region 15 Championship. 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).
