10/18/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College women's volleyball will be celebrating eight sophomores on Friday, October 18^th, in their final regular season home matchup. The visitors will be Hagerstown CC, out of Region XX.  
 
First serve is set for 6:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. The Sophomore Day festivities will take place beforehand. The sophomores to be recognized are Mekenzie Dineen (Wilmington, DE), Aryana Girvan (Clarion, PA), Alasiah Carter (Coatesville, PA), Maddilyn Durfee (Buffalo, NY), Angelique Fuentes (Miami, FL), Zoe Ortueta (Miami, FL), Gabriela Gomez (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic), and Nadia Toth (Dalton, PA).
 
Admission is free and open to the public for the night. Fans are encouraged to wear black for the "Black Out" theme. There will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
About The Falcons
Lackawanna College (15-6) has lost two in a row for the first time this season, after dropping a five-set match against Lehigh Carbon last weekend, and then losing in straight sets to Northampton CC this past Wednesday evening. In the loss to Northampton, the Falcons committed 52 combined errors on serve, attack, and receiving throughout the match. It was an uncharacteristically sloppy performance from Lackawanna, which fell behind early in two of the three sets, and the Falcons couldn't quite dig themselves out of trouble. You can read the full recap HERE.
 
This year, the Falcons are hitting at a collective .132 clip, averaging 10.2 kills per set this season, which is second among all Region XIX teams. The Falcons have 249 aces in 21 contests, averaging 3.2 aces per set, fifth in the region. They're also up to 17.4 digs per set so far this year. Opponents are hitting .110 on the year and have 123 aces vs. 175 errors on serve so far this season. The Falcons are at 0.9 blocks per set, and their opponents are at 1.8 blocks per set.
 
First-year outside hitter Jana Hofmann (Colorado Springs, CO) leads the squad this season with 218 kills through 21 matches. Hofmann is also first on the team with 66 service aces and is third on the team with 243 digs. She's hitting at a .187 clip, second on the team among players with 330 or more attacks, and she's averaging 2.8 kills per set. Hofmann has double-digit kills in eleven matches this season, hitting her season-high of 20 against Northampton on 10/5. She had 20 kills on .300 hitting, with 12 digs and a solo block, to help the Falcons beat Northampton. She had 18 kills in a five-set win against Penn State Hazleton on September 14^th, where she hit .200 and had three aces and 21 digs. Her most efficient hitting day came against Cecil, putting up 14 kills on .406. Hofmann was deadly on serve against Westchester, putting up a season-best 13 aces in the straight-set victory. Hofmann was recently named EPAC Player of the Week in women's volleyball, putting up a combined 40 kills, ten aces, and 32 digs in three matches last week. She had eight kills and ten digs in the loss to Northampton CC on Wednesday night.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Aryana Girvan is second on the team with 164 kills this year, hitting .114 through 21 matches this year. That's third on the team among players with 330 or more attacks. Girvan has 44 service aces, second on the team, and 252 digs so far this season, also second on the squad. Girvan is averaging 2.16 kills per set and has seven matches with double-digit kills this season. Girvan put up her season-high of 22 kills against Lehigh Carbon on 9/28, hitting .275 and putting up 16 digs and three service aces in the loss to the Cougars. She had 20 kills on September 14^th in a win against PSU Hazleton, on a season-high 59 attacks. She also had 22 digs. Girvan has eleven matches with double-digit digs, putting up a season-high 26 digs against Montco on 10/2, while also putting up three kills and four aces. Her best serving match came against PSU Scranton last weekend, where she had eight aces in the win. Girvan put down ten kills and had 19 digs in the loss to Lehigh Carbon CC. Against Northampton, she had three kills, an ace, and ten digs in defeat.
 
Sophomore middle hitter Nadia Toth is third on the team with 110 kills so far this season, hitting at .185, second-best on the team among players with 330 or more attacks. Toth has 16 service aces so far on the season, while last season she had 35 aces. She averages 1.62 kills per set, and her 28 total blocks this season are first on the team. She also has 54 digs this year. Toth had a team-best 12 kills against PSU Hazleton earlier this season, hitting .323 in the match. She has twice gone over double digits for kills, putting up ten in the win against Delaware Tech on September 13^th. She had a season-high five digs and three total blocks in the five-set win over PSU Hazleton on September 14^th. She had a season-best six total blocks, including four solo blocks, against Harrisburg Area CC. Toth had two kills and three digs in two sets in the loss to Northampton CC.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Alasiah Cater has double-digit kills on the year with 82 through her 18 matches. Carter is hitting .039 on the season, and has eleven total blocks this year, fourth on the team. She has 49 digs and nine block assists on the year. She hit her season-high ten kills in the win against Delaware Tech on 10/5, hitting .350 on 20 attacks, and putting up three digs. She had a season-high eleven digs and six kills in the win against Northampton CC on 10/6. Carter was held without a kill on 17 attempts and had four digs in the loss to Northampton on Wednesday.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Angelique Fuentes has 91 kills through 18 matches, fourth on the team. She has 24 service aces, fourth on the team, 24 digs, and 12 total blocks on the year. Fuentes hit a season-high with nine kills in the win against Montco on September 7^th, where she hit .500. She had six kills on .444 hitting in the win against Westchester. She had five kills on .167 hitting, with five aces, in the win against Morris on September 10^th. Fuentes had eight kills on .318 hitting in the win against Northampton on 10/5. She has gone for five or more kills in eight of her last ten matches. Fuentes had eight kills and two digs in the loss to Northampton Wednesday. She led the team last year with over 200 kills. She averaged a little over 2.5 kills per set last year, and hit .150, second on the team. Fuentes had eleven matches with double-digits in kills, with a season-high 20 coming against Chesapeake last season. She had a season-best eight service aces against Delaware Tech earlier in the season and led last year's team with 51 service aces on the year. Fuentes was a first-team All-EPAC selection last season.
 
First-year middle hitter Neurdia Osias (Huntington Station, NY) has 49 kills in 13 matches this season. Osias is second on the team with 20 total blocks this year, including 15 block assists. Neurdia had a combined 14 kills in two matches against PSU Hazleton and Cecil, including eight kills on .412 hitting against Hazleton at home. She followed that up with six kills on .545 hitting in the sweep over Cecil College. She was dominant at the net against Delaware Tech, putting up a season-high five total blocks, including four block assists, in the win for the Falcons on 9/13. She had eight kills in three sets against Harcum on 9/21 but left with an injury late in the third set. She had missed the last five matches before Tuesday's match at Harcum, where she had a kill for the Falcons in the win. Neurdia had a kill, three digs, and two solo blocks in the loss to Northampton on Wednesday.
 
Sophomore setter Maddilyn Durfee leads the team with 388 assists on the year, and has 35 service aces, third on the team. Durfee also has 120 digs on the year, sixth on the team. She has reached double-digit assists in 19 of 21 matches this year, with a season-and-career-best 39 coming in the five-set loss to Cairn on September 19^th. Durfee also put up her season-high of eleven digs against the Highlanders. She had a combined 50 assists in the tri-match sweep for the Falcons against Montco and Westchester on September 7^th. Durfee had a combined 40 assists and three aces, along with 15 digs, in the sweep against Harcum and HACC, putting up 25 assists and ten digs to beat Harcum. She had a combined 50 assists, four aces, and eleven digs in the wins against Del Tech and Northampton on 10/5. She put up ten assists and two aces, along with six digs, on Wednesday against Northampton. Durfee was the main table-setter for Lackawanna a year ago, putting up nearly 500 assists for the Falcons. Durfee averaged just under six assists per set, still managed to put up 40 kills, and had 36 service aces on the year. She had 13 matches with 20 or more assists, and seven matches with 30 or more. Her best came against Chesapeake, where she dished out 37 helpers for the Falcons. Durfee was third on the team with just under 200 digs on the year and had double-digit digs eight times. Her season-best was 20 digs, which she did twice in matches against Bergen CC and Montgomery County CC.
 
The head coach is Shelby Reese, now in her third season at the helm of the Falcons. Reese took over in 2022 and had to re-tool from a roster that was limited the year before, and a program that had been dormant after the pandemic before that. Reese helped the Falcons leap forward, winning their first match in nearly three years in her first season, then winning 14 matches and a Region XIX championship, the first in 17 years, in year two. Before coming to Lackawanna as the Athletic Academic Advisor in 2021, Reese was the head coach at Cedar Crest College for seven years. There, under similar circumstances, she took over a program that needed rehabbing, and turned the Falcons into a perennial conference contender, culminating in a 20-win season in her final year, which included a conference championship and an NCAA Division III tournament appearance. Reese is 32-28 in her time at Lackawanna and won 86 matches in seven years at Cedar Crest.
 
About Hagerstown CC
The Hawks (14-4) have won seven-of-eight coming into the matchup, with their only loss being a five-set match against Harford CC. Common opponents along the run include a three-set sweep over Harrisburg Area on October 2^nd, and a four-set win against Cecil College last Friday. The Hawks swept a tri-match last Friday, beating Cecil and WVU Potomac State College at home.
 
Hagerstown averages 11.5 kills per set this season, hitting at .304 on the year. The Hawks have 247 aces, averaging 3.6 aces per set, and average about 13.6 digs per set. They put up 1.17 blocks per set and have four players with 100+ kills on the season. Opponents are hitting .081 on the year.
 
First-year setter/opposite Emily Gasaway leads the team with 204 kills this season, averaging three per set and hitting .343 this season. Gasaway has 289 assists, second on the team, and has 44 aces, third on the squad. Gasaway also has 106 digs and is second on the team with 28 total blocks, 18 of which are solo stuffs. She has 13 matches with ten or more kills this season, and her season-high came in a five-set win against Kalamazoo Valley back on August 30^th. She had 18 kills on .286 hitting, with eight digs, in the victory. Gasaway has 16 matches with double-digit assists this season, putting up a season-best 25 in a 3-2 win against Delta back on August 31^st. She had 23 in the five-set loss to Harford on October 9^th. She has two matches this season with double-digit digs, putting up a season-high 13 digs in the loss to Harford. Gasaway hit her season-best five aces in a 3-2 loss to Muskegon back on August 31^st. She has gone for double digits in kills in four of her last five matches, averaging 3.2 per set in that span. Against Cecil and Potomac last week, Gasaway had a combined 27 kills, 38 assists, four aces, and ten digs in two matches.
 
A fellow setter/opposite, sophomore Paige Elliott, has 179 kills, second on the team, and leads the Hawks with 377 assists this year. Elliott is hitting .311 on the season, and is tied for the team lead with 63 aces on the year. She also has 18 solo blocks, and 159 digs on the year. Elliott has eight matches with ten or more kills, including three of her last four matches. Her season-high for kills was 17 against Delta back on August 31^st, where she hit .244 and had 22 assists and 13 digs in the victory. She has gone for double-digit assists in all but one match this season, with a season-best 33 coming against Cecil last Friday. She has eight matches with four or more service aces, putting up a season-best nine aces against Howard CC in a three-set sweep back on September 24^th. Elliott has ten matches with ten or more digs, posting a season-high 17 digs in the sweep over Harrisburg Area on October 2^nd. She had a combined 18 kills, 59 assists, four aces, and 13 digs in the tri-match last Friday.
 
First-year outside hitter Emma Smith is third on the team with 122 kills this season, hitting .273 and averaging 1.79 per set this year. Smith has 22 service aces and 161 digs on the year. She has three matches with ten or more kills this season, including both matches last Friday against Cecil and Potomac. Her season-high came against the College of Southern Maryland, where she had 14 kills on .458 hitting in a four-set win for the Hawks. She has six matches with ten or more digs, putting up a season-best 15 digs in the five-set loss to Harford on October 9^th. She had a combined 22 kills, five aces, and 20 digs in the wins against Cecil and Potomac last Friday, including 12 kills on .632 hitting in the win against Cecil alone.
 
First-year middle blocker Heaven Jarvis is fourth on the team with 113 kills, hitting at .461 on the season and averaging 1.6 kills per set this year. Jarvis leads the team with 30 total blocks, including 18 solo stops and 12 block assists. Jarvis had her season-best 15 kills come against Montgomery College (MD) in a four-set loss on September 18^th, hitting .824 in defeat. Her best blocking game came against Delta on August 31^st, putting up three solo stops and an assist in the five-set win for Hagerstown. She had a combined 12 kills and two total blocks in the tri-match last Friday.
 
The head coach for the Hawks is Sierra Hill, a Hagerstown native. Hill went to Wilson College, where she played volleyball as the libero for the Phoenix, graduating in 2022 with a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts, along with a triple-minor in Sociology, Communications, and Applied Ethics. Hill, a South Hagerstown HS graduate, works with youth volleyball camps local to Hagerstown, and serves as a 16u coach.
 
The Match-Up
First serve is set for 6:00pm ET inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. The Sophomore Day festivities will take place beforehand.
 
Admission is free and open to the public for the night. There will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
Lackawanna's next contest will be on Tuesday, October 22^nd, as the Falcons travel to Harrisburg for an EPAC matchup with Harrisburg Area CC. First serve will be at 6:00pm ET inside the HACC gymnasium.