Odaly Aponte returns for her sixth season as head coach of the women’s volleyball team.
Under her leadership, the Lady Panthers made five consecutive trips to the CUNYAC Athletic Conference playoffs and appeared in three conference finals.
During her time at BMCC, Aponte has built the Lady Panthers into a competitor with double-digit victories in each of her final three seasons. She has posted a 53-71 (.427) record overall in six seasons.
In her six seasons at the helm, Aponte mentored eight CUNYAC Community College All-Stars and a CUNYAC Community College Rookie of the Year (Kayshawna Richardson in 2015). Aponte also produced two of the Program's All-Time Leaders in career digs (Nolverys Fernandez - 373) and career kills (Stella Vaso - 355) while three other players set single-season records in Digs (Nisha Rosario - 309), Kills (Yolireisi Pichardo - 256), and Blocks (Kayshawna Richardson - 81). Seven other players during her tenure also have etched their names into the single-season and all-time program record books.
In 2019, BMCC posted a mark of 9-10 and a 4-2 CUNYAC mark. The Panthers returned to the CUNYAC Championship for the fourth consecutive time before falling in the Region XV quarterfinals. Sophomore Nolverys Fernandez was the lone CUNYAC All-Star selection and took over as the program's new all-time career leader in digs with 373. Fernandez also finished her final season with the Panthers in style as her 269 digs, and 194 Kills were good for second and fourth-most in single-season history. Freshman Kaylin Nieves also dished out 297 assists which were fifth-most in a single season.
During the 2018 campaign, BMCC posted a winning mark of 12-9 and finished second in the CUNYAC with a 6-2 record. The Panthers reached the CUNYAC Championship for a third consecutive season and fell in the Region XV quarterfinals. Sophomore Jennifer Chacon and freshman Yolireisi Pichardo were both named CUNYAC All-Stars while Pichardo set a single-season record blasting 256 Kills, and Chacon concluded her career with 808 career assists and 141 career service aces, both good for second-most in program history.
Aponte's best campaigns came in 2017 and 2016, posting a career-best 14 victories in back-to-back seasons. During the 2017 season, BMCC finished the regular season with a 14-6 mark and a second-place finish in the conference (4-2 overall), en route to a second straight CUNYAC Community College final and a third-place finish in the NJCAA Region XV tournament. The 2016 season saw the Panthers make the CUNYAC final (the program's first appearance since 2011) with a 14-10 record and a loss in the Region XV quarterfinals.
During both seasons, five players received CUNYAC All-Star honors.
Coach Aponte has volleyball coaching experience dating back to 1992 in her native Puerto Rico, where she spent 12 years with the Gigantes Volleyball Club. Aponte has also worked as a personal trainer for various programs from 1994 to 2004 and has since served as a physical education teacher and head girls volleyball and basketball coach for the New York City Board of Education Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL). In 2015, she began coaching for the Legacy Volleyball Club, a member of the Garden Empire Volleyball Association (GEVA).
Coach Aponte Holds a Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science from Universidad del Sagrado Corazonin San Juan, Puerto Rico. She has also earned a Master's of Science in Physical Education from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, and working towards a Master's of Science in Applied Nutrition from the same institution.
