General | 5/18/2023 8:00:00 PM

Queens, New York – On Thursday, the City University of New York Athletic Conference recognized their Scholar-Athletes of the Year for the 2022-2023 season for their excellence in athletics and the classroom at the 36th edition of the CUNYAC Michael Steuerman Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner at Terrace on the Park. Sophomore Xheni Doci (Saluzzo, Italy) from BMCC women's volleyball added another major accolade to her storied career at BMCC receiving Scholar-Athlete of the Year Honorable Mention honors.
 
"Xheni embodies what is to be a student-athlete. Her academic and athletic prowess is second to none," said Matthew Ruiz, Director of Athletics & Recreation at BMCC. "It was an honor to watch Xheni succeed on the volleyball court and in the classroom. She has set a high standard for what we want all of our student-athletes to achieve."
 
Doci made her mark on BMCC on the court and in the classroom from the moment she entered 199 Chambers Street. In her only season at BMCC in 2022, she was a crucial part of the Panther women's volleyball program's best season in a decade, quarterbacking the offensive attack and leading them to their first CUNYAC CC Championship since 2006 and 17 wins for the first time in 16 seasons. 
 
She turned it on when it mattered in the 2022 CUNYAC CC Women's Volleyball Championship, recording two double-doubles, her team-leading 17th and 18th 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. Her performance earned her 2022 CUNYAC Community College All-Tournament Team honors.
 
She helped lead the Panthers women's volleyball program to their first Region 15 semifinals since 2017 after an outstanding regular season in which the school posted the most Region victories in over a decade, with 14 clinching the third seed in the 2023 Region 15 Women's Volleyball Tournament. Doci posted a career-high in the Panther's quarterfinal match against Kingsborough Community College, dishing out 45 assists with 19 digs in a three-set victory. In the semifinals against Dutchess, she put up a game-high 18 assists and handled the backline for the Panthers with a game-best 32 digs becoming the fourth player in program history to dish out 500-plus career assists. 
 
She finished her career in downtown Manhattan with 549 career assists which were the second most in a single season and fourth most in program history, while also capturing the 2023 Region 15 Setter of the Year, All-Region 15 First Team, CUNYAC All-Star Accolades, and also becoming the first Panther player in program history to be named NJCAA Division III Offensive Player of the Week after placing a season-high 21 service aces against Bronx Community College which was second-most in program history.
 
Her maturity was another key intangible that helped a young Panthers squad keep their composure during the season, as she also finished in the top 10 in school history in two other categories ranking sixth with 87 career service aces and ninth with 259 career digs. 
 
Off the court, the Liberal Arts major set the same high bar in the classroom with a 4.0 GPA, being inducted into the National Society of Leadership Inducted Member Leadership, Diversity & Inclusiveness, Communication, and Success (NSLS) Technology, Self-Awareness in the fall of 2020. Doci has also built a new business teaching Italian to private students online, and the company currently has 10 clients, and she is looking to expand it down the road. 
 
After earning an Associate in Liberal Arts, she will continue her education at Baruch College.
 
Enjoy her interview for NJCAA Day about her thoughts on being a student-athlete:


ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
The athletic program at Borough of Manhattan Community College encompasses a total of seven 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).