New York, New York – The fourth-seeded BMCC women's volleyball team's season came to a close in straight sets to top seed and regular season champion Queensborough Community College in the CUNYAC semifinals in RFK Gymnasium in Bayside, New York. The Panthers finished the season at 3-16, while the Tigers improved to 16-4 and then 17-4 after winning the 2023 CUNYAC Community College Women's Volleyball Championship against Kingsborough Community College for their 10th title in program history.
 
Freshmen Sarah Sellami (Queens, New York) and Silvia Chen (New York, New York) led the Panthers offensively as Sellami registered a team-high five kills and Chen dished out a team-best five assists.
 
Defensively, sophomore Garyana Altidor (Queens, New York) and freshmen Keyanna Irving (Queens, New York) and Kamya Hayes (Bronx, New York) led the team with four digs apiece.
 
After the Tigers rolled in the first set 25-15, the Panthers battled hard in the second set, staying close for the first 20 points, being tied at 10 before Queensborough went on an 8-2 run before the Panthers scored seven out of the following 11 points to get within three 22-19. The Tigers grabbed three of the set's final four points to take it 25-20 before cruising 25-10 in the third set to knock off the defending 2022 CUNYAC Community College Women's Champion Panthers.
 
Sellami finishes her season with a team-best 127 kills and five double-digit kill games with two double-doubles, which is second on the team. Her 127-kill total was 12th most in a single season and 16th all-time in program history, passing Wai Shan Chan from 2014-15. 
 
She registered her first double-double two weeks ago with a career-best 25 kills and 20 digs against FIT on October 12, 2023, while leading the defense with a team-high 10 blocks. The Queens, New York native was also second in digs with 66 and third in service aces and assists with 47 and 16, respectively.
 
Chen concluded the season leading the Panthers in two offensive categories with a team-leading 296 assists and 84 service aces. Her 296 assists were seventh most in a single season, passing Lukolic Medina, and eighth all-time in program history, passing Iris Miranda. She kicked off 2023 strong with nine straight double-digit assists games and a team-best 13 double-digit assist game games with eight games of 20 or more assists and three 30-assist games with a career-high 36 assists last week against Hostos Community College on October 17, 2023.
 
The New York, New York native's 84 service aces were fifth most in a single season, passing Damali Prince and tied for seventh all-time, which is tied with Nolverys Fernandez. She also led the Panthers with four double-doubles. She posted double-digit service aces a team-high three times with a career-high 22 against Bronx Community College on September 9, 2023, one short of the single-game program record set by Emmanuella Aurel (Port Au Prince, Haiti) against the Broncos on October 4, 2022. For that effort, she was rewarded with CUNYAC Community College Rookie of the Week honors on September 11, 2023, after posting two straight double-doubles in the Panther's first CUNYAC double dual over against Hostos Community College and Bronx Community College on September 9, 2023.
 
Altidor put up an outstanding second season, registering a career-best and team-best 164 digs, tied for 14th most in a single season, tied with Laisha Ulerio (La Vega, Dominican Republic). The Queens, New York native concludes her Panthers career with 252 career digs, the 11th most in program history, passing Luz Pena. She picked up her first-ever CUNYAC Player of the Week honor on September 11, 2023, with 67 digs in the first three games, including a career-high 33 against Hostos Community College.
 
She also posted a career-high 50 service aces, second on the team, and concluded her career with 60, the 17th all-time in program history.


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