New York, New York - The BMCC women's volleyball team defeated Roxbury Community College in straight sets (25-6, 25-7, 25-4) in their tri-match home opener on Saturday afternoon but fell heartbreakingly to Kingsborough Community College in five sets (25-27, 25-20, 25-17, 23-25, 14-16). With the split, the Panthers' record stands at 2-1 overall, while they drop 1-1 in the Region XV competition.
Freshman Andrea Perez-Guzman (Brooklyn, New York) spearheaded the Panther's offensive effort in game one, recording her team-leading second double-digit kill effort with a game-high 10 kills and .471 hitting percentage (10K-2E-17TA), while Kavana Liburd (Queens, New York) dished out a game-best 13 assists. The Panthers uncorked a season-high 25 service aces in the contest, led by a game-high 11 service aces from freshman Ishinay Lennon (Bronx, New York), while classmates Jazmyn Pridgen (New York, New York) had six and four service aces respectively.
Sophomore Emmanuella Aurel (Port Au Prince, Haiti) held it down on the backline with a game-best 10 digs.
Mishelle Chavez Gome had a team-best three kills, while Naybelin Mejia had eight digs defensively.
In the final match on the afternoon, BMCC and Kingsborough Community College played a five-set slugfest that went back and forth throughout. After both squads exchanged the first eight points of the match, the Wave went on a 10-2 run to grab a six-point lead, 10-4 after a Liburd bad set, and extend it to an eight-point advantage, their biggest of the set, 14-6 on a kill by Solandra Arizaga. BMCC went on a 12-3 run and utilized Wave mistakes to get the match tied at 16, grabbed an 18-17 lead on an Aurel kill, and stretched it to a two-point lead, 19-17 on a Nathaly Walter attack error.
Kingsborough Community College would score four straight points, retaking the lead 20-19 on a Rayan Jahmi kill and extending their advantage to two, 21-19, on an attack error by Perez-Guzman. The Panthers scored three of the following four points to tie it at 22 on a Lennon kill, then two BMCC attack errors gave the Wave the lead back 24-22, and then Perez-Guzman and two Kingborough attack errors tied it up again at 24, and put the Panthers in front 25-24 with a chance to take the opening set. The Wave wouldn't let that happen, scoring the last three points on a Lovelle Harris kill and two Joycelyn Toxqui service aces to take the first set 27-25.
After both squads traded the first 16 points of the second set, the Panthers grabbed control of it with an 11-2 run capped off by a kill from Devon Vazquez (New York, New York) to give the Panthers a nine-point lead, 19-10. The Wave responded with a furious 8-1 run to cut the lead down to two, 20-18, but the Panthers closed out the set with seven straight points to win the second set 25-20 and even the match at a game apiece.
BMCC jumped out to another quick start in the third set and rolled throughout, building a 17-7 advantage thanks to a kill from Aurel and building their lead to as large as nine twice, 20-11 on a kill from Jaylynn Mateo (Brooklyn, New York) and a Pridgen service ace to make it 22-13 en route to a 25-17 victory.
The fourth set was tight throughout, featuring 11 ties, and neither team trailed by more than three points. After the Panthers trailed 17-16, they rolled off three straight points to grab a 19-17 lead courtesy of a Wave attack error and a kill and service ace from Mateo and Pridgen. Kyrah Allison's kill would cap a 3-1 Kingsborough run to knot it up at 20 before the Panthers rolled off three consecutive points to get the lead to 23-20, with the final two points coming on a Valerie Reynoso (Queens, New York) service ace and a thunderous kill from Aurel. With the Panthers two points away from their first sweep in three seasons, the Wave had other ideas, finishing the fourth set with five straight points, including four straight service aces from Solandra Arizaga to take the set 25-23 and force a fifth game.
BMCC wasn't rattled in the fifth game, grabbing an 8-4 lead thanks to a Liburd kill from Vasquez. Joycelyn Toxqui's service ace helped finish a 4-1 Wave run to cut the Panther lead to one, 9-8. The Panthers scored four of the next six points to push the lead back to three, 13-10, thanks to a service ace from Liburd, before the Wave rolled off four straight points of their own to take a 14-13 lead on a Rayan Jahmi service ace. BMCC would keep their hopes alive when an Aurel throwdown tied it at 14, but Kingsborough Community College was able to take the match with the final two points with a kill by Nathaly Walter, giving them a 16-14 victory and the match three games to two.
Aurel led the BMCC offensive attack in the second game with her first double-double of the season and fifth of her career with a game-best and career-high, tying 11 kills while handling 32 digs, also a game-high. Liburd dished out a team-high 22 assists. Mateo uncorked a career-best nine kills, and Lennon placed a team-best four service aces.
Defensively, the Panthers had five players with double-digit dig games, as Lennon and Vasquez handled 24 digs and 18 digs, while Reynoso and Mateo had 11 digs each.
Kyrah Allison led the Wave on offense with a team-high nine kills, while Rayan Jahmi posted a double-double with a team-high 23 assists and 25 digs. Solandra Arizaga placed a team-best seven service aces, with four helping Kingsborough Community College rally to force a fourth set.
Defensively, the Wave had four players with double-digit dig performances. Joycelyn Toxqui fielded a team-best 27 digs, while Jasmine Morris and Solandra Arizaga posted 21 and 17 digs, respectively.
The Panthers will look to bounce back and equal their win total from last year next Thursday, September 19, at 6 p.m. against Hostos Community College in Region 15 action at BMCC Gymnasium. For more information, visit the BMCC Women's Volleyball Schedule Page.
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