The Genesee Community College volleyball team turned some heads last weekend by being the only one of six colleges to walk away without losing a set in pod play action in Batavia, but the Cougars have their work cut out for them when they take on visiting Jamestown Community College Sept. 11 at 6 p.m.
The Jayhawks finished No. 7 in the National Junior College Athletic Association D-III National Championship last year in Rochester, Minn. and may have finished higher had they not drawn eventual national champion Eastfield (Tx.) in the opening round after securing a national championship tournament berth as Region III champions.
Jamestown is currently atop the NJCAA Region-III standings at 4-0, and while the Jayhawks still might remain the best team in the region, Genesee may have its best player.
Ana Carolina Cerezer Pinto has lit up both the regional and national statistic boards after her first week of play.
With a diverse number of matches between the 18 Region-III teams that vary from 3-10, the only true indicator of individual performance is on per-set basis.
As of statistics prior to today's regional matches, Pinto ranked first in the region in three categories, in the top-five in four, and in the top-20 in five based on a per-set rankings.
Her hitting percentage was tops at .358, she ranked first in points-per-set with 4.9 and also led in service aces per-set with 1.54. In addition, Pinto was fifth in kills-per-set with 3.15 and 16th in digs-per-set with 3.77.
In three of those aforementioned categories, she is in the nation's top-30 that include hitting percentage at No. 14, points-per-set at No. 16, and kills-per-set at No. 28.
Pinto leads or is tied for the team lead in five categories that include: kills (41), aces (20), digs (49), points (63.5), and hitting percentage (.358).
In the remaining team-leader categories, Alexis Eighmey leads the team in assists with 30, Lyndsey Rowland is the team leader in total blocks with 15, and Audriana Reeves is tied with Pinto in digs with 49.
After Genesee's match with Jamestown, the Cougars will continue with pod play this weekend in Syracuse by taking on Cayuga, Jefferson and host Onondaga Sept. 15 starting at 10:30 a.m.
