Women's Volleyball Advances to National Tournament for Second-Straight Season

SANBORN, N.Y. – The Lakers traveled to Niagara County Community College on Saturday, October 29th for the pool play round of the NJCAA Region III women's volleyball championships. The Lakers entered the tournament as the #1 seed in pool A. The Lakers saw opponents in Herkimer, Genesee, and Fulton-Montgomery Community College(s).

October 29th

Lakers vs. Herkimer County Community College 

Freshman Kaidyn VanDelinder (Gananda, N.Y./ Gananda) led the team with 10 points adding 10 kills and 1 dig against the Generals. Freshman Olivia Sheehan (Irondequoit, N.Y./ West Irondequoit), the NJCAA Region III Co-Defensive Player of the Year, finished with 22 digs, 1 assist, and 8 aces in the match.

The Lakers would start the day off on the right foot, completing a 3-0 sweep over the Generals.

Lakers vs. Genesee Community College

In their third matchup of the year, with the Lakers taking the first two, the Genesee Community College Cougars would pull off a 2-1 victory over the Lakers. In the tight match, each set was decided by no more than 4 points.m 

Freshman Kaidyn VanDelinder would once again show up for the Lakers, finishing with 10 kills on the attack, to go along with 1 block solo for 11 points to lead the team in a strong performance. Freshman Brooke DeGroff (Castile, N.Y./ Letchworth) put together an impressive performance as well, adding 8 kills, 2 aces, and 10 digs against the Cougars. The match would put the Lakers at 1-1 in tournament pool play.

Lakers vs. Fulton-Montgomery Community College

The team would find themselves matched up with the Raiders for the final match of the day. The Raiders would sweep, completing a 3-0 finish against the Lakers.

Freshman Olivia Sheehan continued to put her strong defensive play on display, finishing with 20 digs to go with 9 aces in the match. Sophomore Meghan Johnson (Phelps, N.Y./ Newark) would lead the Lakers on the attack and finish with 11 kills, 1 ace, and 10 digs: good for 12 points. Lakers freshman Sage Barnedo (Silver Springs, M.D./ Springbrook) racked up the assists on the day, adding 29 in the match and 83 on the day. Barnedo would also add 1 kill and 7 digs against the Raiders.

Despite the 1-2 start in tournament pool play, the Laker's performance earned them the #2 seed and a position in the NJCAA Region III, Division B championship against the Jayhawks of Jamestown Community College.

October 30th

Lakers vs. Jamestown Community College

The Lakers would find themselves in the same spot they were in just a year ago, competing for the NJCAA Region III championship, and a spot in the NJCAA Division III national championship.

The Lakers would start out strong, taking a 25-18 victory in the first set, before the Jayhawks would rally back in the second, tying the match 1 a piece. The circumstances would bring the two teams to an important third set. Despite another strong start to the set, the Lakers would come away with a close 26-24 victory, and a 2-1 advantage.

The match would come down to a decisive fourth set, the Jayhawks season on the line, and a national tournament appearance on the line for the Lakers. The Lakers would take advantage of the opportunity, taking the fourth set in convincing fashion, 25-9. Lakers freshman Brooke DeGroff would step up to the occasion, adding 17 kills on the attack, 3 aces on the serve, 14 digs, 1 block, and 1 block assist on defense. A strong tournament for DeGroff would earn her NJCAA Region III All-Tournament Most Valuable Player honors. 

Freshman Sage Barnedo continued to impress throughout the day, earning All-Tournament honors and finishing with 36 assists, 2 kills, 2 aces, and 6 digs. Teammate Olivia Sheehan picked up All-Tournament honors as well, adding 1 assist, 4 aces, and 10 digs in the match. Freshman Kaidyn VanDelinder would wrap up All-Tournament honors for the Lakers, finishing with 7 kills and 1 dig in an overall impressive tournament performance.

Freshman Megan Sanford (Savona, N.Y./ Campbell-Savona) stepped up in the championship game and helped lead the Lakers on defense, picking up several key and momentum-shifting plays for the team. Sanford would pick up 1 block, 4 block assists, and 11 digs on defense. On offense, Sanford would punch in 9 kills on the attack and finish the match with 12 points.

With the win, the Lakers pick up back-to-back NJCAA Region III championships and earn a second-straight national tournament appearance. The team will await their seeding, which will be announced on November 1st at 12 PM on the NJCAA Network: https://www.njcaa.org/network/landing/index

The team will once again travel to the Rochester Regional Sports Center in Rochester, Minnesota, kicking off the tournament on Thursday, November 10th.

Keep up to date with Finger Lakes Community College Athletics at flccathletics.com, and follow the Lakers on social media @flccathletics on Facebook and Twitter, and @flcclakers on Instagram.