New York, New York - The BMCC women's volleyball team faced several match-clinching points on the season, but the final one on Monday night carried the weight of ending a 16-year CUNYAC championship drought. From the moment they got off the bus, this Panther squad came to RFK Gymnasium for the 2022 CUNYAC CC Women's Volleyball Championship locked in. The match's final play looked effortless off a serve receive as freshman Jamielee Adomo (Bronx, New York) fired a beautiful kill into the back row ending Queensborough Community College's six-time defending reign in straight sets.
BMCC claimed its first CUNYAC title since 2006 and 11th in program history. The Panthers improved to 17-6 to conclude the 2022 season, which matches the win total from the 2006 season.
Sophomore Josanne Lewis (Rochester, Minnesota), the Region 15 Player of the Year, added another accolade to her list, being named the CUNYAC CC Women's Volleyball Championship Most Valuable Player after her performance in both matches. Lewis registered two double-doubles for her team-leading 17th and 18th on the season and her ninth and 10th in her last 11 matches. Lewis uncorked a game-high 25 kills and 18 digs in the semifinals against Hostos C.C. in a three-set sweep and a game-high 14 kills in the Championship final against Queensborough Community College to go along with 14 digs. The outside hitter from Rochester, Minnesota, put together a season for the ages in downtown Manhattan smashing the single-season and all-time program record for kills with 397 for her career, surpassing Yolireisi Pichardo's mark for a single-season and Stela Vaso's mark all-time.
Lewis also got it done on the defensive side in 2022 with 320 digs which were third-most in a single season and fourth all-time.
Her classmate Xheni Doci (Saluzzo, Italy), the Region 15 Setter of the Year, put up her 15th and 16 double-doubles on the season, dishing out a game-high 26 assists in the three-set sweep of Hostos C.C. in the semifinals and a team-high 18 assists in the Championship game to go along with 16 and 10 digs. Doci was also named to the 2022 CUNYAC Community College All-Tournament Team and put together another outstanding single-year performance for the Panthers, becoming the fourth player in program history to hand out 500-plus assists. She finishes her career with 549 assists, which is the second most in a single season surpassing Jennifer Chacon and fourth most in program history.
Freshman Emmanuella Aurel (Port Au Prince, Haiti) held it down on the backline corralling a team-high 18 digs in the CUNYAC finals against Queensborough in a three-set sweep and another 15 digs against Hostos C.C. in the semifinals during a straight-set victory landing on the 2022 CUNYAC Community College All-Tournament Team for her efforts. Aurel came into the 2022 CUNYAC Community College Women's Volleyball Championship six digs shy of the All-Time Program Record held by Nolverys Fernandez (Santiago, Dominican Republic) with 373 career digs. Aurel's performance in both matches stretched her single-season record for digs and current total to 400, making her the program's all-time leader in career digs.
The top-seeded Panthers, who dispatched Hostos C.C. effortlessly in the semifinals in straight sets, carried it into the opening frame capitalizing on 13 attack errors from Queensborough Community College to grab control of the lead 13-10. BMCC would register seven of the following 10 points to expand the advantage to 20-13 en route to a first-set victory to take a 1-0 lead.
The Tigers rolled off the first four points of the second set before the Panthers scored five of the following six points with an Aurel and Lewis kill, tying it a five. Both teams would go back and forth with the lead three times and be tied three times as, after a 15-15 deadlock, BMCC rolled up five of the next six points, led by a pair of service aces from Lewis outscoring Queensborough 10-3 en route to a 25-18 win and a 2-0 advantage in the match.
With their backs against the wall, Queensborough Community College charged out of the gate with eight of the first nine points of the third set, jumping out to an 8-1 advantage. BMCC would not be fazed, clawing back with a 15-4 run capped off by four straight points with a kill and two service aces from Lewis and a kill from Doci to make it 16-12. The Tigers would not get any closer than three points as Adomo took a beautiful feed from Doci and stuck it in the back row to secure the victory and the tournament championship for the Panthers.
Rosanna Bradica led all Queensborough Community College swingers with a team-high nine kills, while Desiree Morales put up a double-double with a game-high 20 assists to go along with 14 digs. Angelica Hernandez led the Tiger's defense with a game-best 22 digs.
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