Middletown, New York - The Borough of Manhattan Community College women's volleyball team came into the Region 15 Championship semifinals round as one the favorites to take it all on Saturday afternoon. The tough news for the Panthers was the team on the other side, third-seeded Dutchess Community College Falcons, another favorite in the tournament, was a major obstacle standing between BMCC and a Region 15 championship for the first time in almost a decade.
In a rematch of an epic five-set slugfest back in September, Dutchess Community College got revenge this time using solid defense and timely kills to upend the Panthers in four sets (20-25,25-18,18-25, 17-25) at Orange County Community College in Middletown, New York. As a result, the Panthers were eliminated from the program's first shot at a National Tournament appearance falling to 15-6, while the Falcons improved to 19-3 and then took the Region 15 Championship in the match after for their 20th victory over the Monroe Express. The latter will join them as the Region 15 representatives in the district championships next Saturday.
Sophomore Josanne Lewis (Rochester, Minnesota) etched her name into the program record books for a long time to come in kills smashing a game-high 15 kills for 358 kills, setting a new all-time program record and surpassing Stela Vaso mark of 355. Lewis also posted her team-leading 16th double-double and eighth in her last nine matches, chipping in defensively with 14 digs.
Classmate Xheni Doci (Saluzzo, Italy) dished out a game-high 18 assists and handled the backline for the Panthers with a game-best 32 digs for her 14th double-double and eighth straight on the season. Doci became the fourth player in program history to hand out 500 plus assists with 505 on the season passing Jennifer Chacon's mark of 425 for fourth most in a single season, and is also currently fourth all-time in program history.
Doci also placed a team-high five service aces, and freshman Sarah Lee was strong on the backline with three of her own. Doci has now dropped 87 service aces, moving her into fourth all-time in a single season, passing Jennifer Santo's total from 2015, and is currently sixth all-time in program history.
Freshman Emmanuella Aurel (Port Au Prince, Haiti) posted her fourth double-double, corralling 21 digs to go along with 11 assists, while Lee contributed 21 digs in the back row.
After both teams traded the first ten points of the first set, the Falcons scored the following three points to lead 8-5 before the Panthers scored four of the following six points to cut the lead down to two, 11-9. Then, Dutchess took control of the set, going on a 9-4 run to stretch the lead to 20-13 and take the set 25-18 and a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Panthers roared out of the gate with three straight points to begin set two and extended it to 6-2 before the Falcons used a 6-2 run to tie it a eight. Both teams were gridlocked at 12, then BMCC outscored Dutchess 17-10 down the stretch to lead 23-18 and eventually took the set 25-18 to even up the match at one.
The Falcons got out fast in the third set, jumping out to a 17-10 lead before the Panthers rolled off a 7-0 run, with two kills and service aces coming from Aurel and Doci on it to even it up at 17. However, Dutchess scored eight of the final nine points to take a 2-1 lead in the match, winning the set 25-18.
Dutchess scored seven of the first nine points of the fourth set, then BMCC recorded the next three to get within two, 7-5. But, it was all Falcons after that, outscoring the Panthers 12-5 down the stretch to make it 19-10 and then 24-14, cruising to a 25-17 result to win the match 3-1.
Dutchess Community College had two players register double-doubles in the match, with Kathleen Brennan leading the way with a team-high 11 kills on offense and 18 digs on defense, while Leah Vitiello uncorked 10 kills to go along with 13 digs. In addition, Jordyn Wilsea handed out a game-high 30 assists while Gabriella Radovic placed a game-best six service aces. Radovic also led a strong backline with 27 on the afternoon, as Dutchess had five players register 10 or more digs.
Lauren Siegel grabbed 17 digs, and Wilsea added 11 digs in the match.
The Panthers still have one more opportunity to put an exclamation point on an outstanding 2022 as the top seed in the 2022 CUNYAC CC Women's Volleyball Championship for the first time since 2008. They will also look for their first conference championship since 2006. BMCC faces fourth-seed Hostos C.C. at 4 p.m. in the semifinals, with the winner moving on to the finals match at 8 p.m. For more information, visit the BMCC Women's Volleyball Schedule Page.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
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).
