10/8/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College women's volleyball has an important road match on Tuesday, October 8^th, as the Falcons will travel to Southeastern PA to take on Harcum College in a Region XIX DII and EPAC matchup.
 
First serve is set for a 6:30pm ET start inside the Harcum gymnasium in Bryn Mawr, PA, and will feature two teams that went five sets in their last match, which happened in Scranton last month. The Falcons were down 2-1 through three sets to the Bears but roared back in the fourth and fifth sets to take it over Harcum. Read the full recap HERE.
 
There will be a video livestream available via the Harcum Athletics YouTube channel, linked HERE.
 
About The Falcons
Lackawanna College (13-4, 4-0) is coming off a pair of victories this past weekend and has won five of its last six matches. The Falcons knocked off Delaware Tech in five sets this past Saturday, defeating Del Tech after trailing 2-1. They followed that up with a four-set win against Northampton CC, earning the program's first win in 20 tries against the Spartans.
 
This year, the Falcons are hitting at a collective .142 clip, averaging 10.6 kills per set this season. The Falcons have 183 aces in 17 contests, averaging a shade under three aces per set, and are up to 17.7 digs per set so far this year. Opponents are hitting .113 on the year and have 93 aces vs. 147 errors on serve so far this season. The Falcons are at 0.9 blocks per set, and their opponents are at 1.7 blocks per set.
 
First-year outside hitter Jana Hofmann (Colorado Springs, CO) leads the squad this season with 175 kills through 17 matches. Hofmann is also first on the team with 58 service aces and is third on the team with 197 digs. She's hitting at a .194 clip, first on the team among players with 290 or more attacks, and she's averaging 2.7 kills per set. Hofmann has double-digit kills in nine matches this season, hitting her season-high of 20 this past weekend against Northampton. 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 12 kills, two aces, and 15 digs in the five-set win against Harcum earlier this season.
 
First-year outside hitter Aryana Girvan (Clarion, PA) is second on the team with 142 kills this year, hitting .129 through 17 matches this year. That's third on the team among players with 290 or more attacks. Girvan has 29 service aces, second on the team, and 215 digs so far this season, also second on the squad. Girvan is averaging 2.25 kills per set, and has six matches with double-digit kills this season, all in six of her last eight matches. 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 nine matches with double-digit digs, putting up a season-high 26 digs last week against Montco, while also putting up three kills and four aces. Her best serving match came against Morris, where she posted five aces. Girvan had a combined 16 kills in the two wins for the Falcons over Del Tech and Northampton, while also posting three aces, five assists, and 29 digs. She had 13 kills and 25 digs in the win against Harcum earlier this year.
 
Sophomore middle hitter Nadia Toth (Dalton, PA) is third on the team with 101 kills so far this season, hitting at .181, second best on the team among players with 290 or more attacks. Toth has 14 service aces so far on the season, fifth on the squad. Toth had 35 aces last year. She averages 1.6 kills per set, and her 28 total blocks this season are first on the team. She also has 47 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 nine kills on .161 hitting with two block assists and two digs in the loss to Lehigh Carbon on 9/28. She had a combined eleven kills, three aces, and nine digs in the wins against Del Tech and Northampton on the weekend. She had eight kills in the win against Harcum.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Alasiah Cater (Coatesville, PA) has double-digit kills on the year with 79 through her 17 matches. Carter is hitting .074 on the season, and has eleven total blocks this year, fourth on the team. She has 45 digs and nine block assists on the year. She hit her season-high ten kills in the win against Delaware Tech this past weekend, 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 this past weekend. Carter had a combined 16 kills and 14 digs on the weekend. Against Harcum, she had nine kills and two digs in the victory.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Angelique Fuentes (Miami, FL) has 68 kills through her first 14 matches. She has 22 service aces, fourth on the team, 16 digs, and eleven 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 a great weekend, putting up 15 kills and eight aces in the two matches against Del Tech and Northampton. She has gone for five or more kills in five of her last six matches. Fuentes had five kills and two aces, with a dig and two total blocks in the win against Harcum College. 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 been the most efficient hitter for the Falcons this year, hitting at a .224 clip this season with 43 kills. Osias is second on the team with 14 total blocks this year, including eleven 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. She had eight kills in three sets against Harcum but left with an injury late in the third set. She has missed the last five matches for Lackawanna.
 
Sophomore setter Maddilyn Durfee (Buffalo, NY) leads the team with 340 assists on the year, and has 25 service aces, third on the team. Durfee also has 105 digs on the year, fifth on the team. She has reached double-digit assists in 16 of 17 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 this past weekend. 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 for 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 30-26 in her time at Lackawanna and won 86 matches in seven years at Cedar Crest.
 
About Harcum College
The Bears (5-7, 2-2) have gone 3-4 since their loss to Lackawanna College back on September 21^st. Two of those wins have come against CC of Philadelphia and Delaware County CC. The win over Delco was the most recent match for the Bears, a 3-0 sweep against the Phantoms. Harcum wo the match, despite only putting up seven kills as a team. The win was driven by 26 aces from the Bears.
 
This year, Harcum is averaging 6.93 kills per set and hitting around a .169 clip. Harcum has 127 service aces, and averages 13.6 digs per set this year. They also average just over 1.4 blocks per set. Harcum's opponents are averaging a .179 hitting percentage, while putting up 8.3 kills per set. The Bears have given up 96 aces on the year.

First-year outside hitter Buse Sen leads the team with 96 kills this season, a 2.23 per set average through 12 matches, hitting at .137. Sen has 14 aces and 117 digs, while also posting nine solo blocks. She has hit double-digit kills in four matches, with her season-best of 16 kills coming against Northampton, a 3-1 win for Harcum, on 9/9. Sen hit .387 in that contest and had five digs and three solo blocks. She had a season-best seven aces in a 3-0 win against CC of Philadelphia. She didn't have a kill on five attempts but had an ace and six digs in the win against Delco. She put up nine kills and 18 digs in the five-set loss to Lackawanna.
 
First-year right-side hitter Arianna Rosario is second on the team with 71 kills this season, averaging 1.65 per set. Rosario is hitting .188 this year, posting 26 aces, second on the team. She has 104 digs, third on the team, and six total blocks. Rosario has hit double-digits in kills three times, hitting her season-high of eleven kills each time. She recorded eleven kills in back-to-back matches against Northampton CC and Morris in September, then posted eleven kills against Montco this past weekend. Against Montco, she had the eleven kills and 12 digs, along with an ace, in a 3-1 loss. She had two kills and five aces in the victory over Delco that same day. She had seven kills and 15 digs in the loss to Lackawanna on 9/21.

First-year right-side hitter Jenna DeTemple is third on the team with 67 total kills, averaging just over two per set this year. DeTemple is hitting at .245, tops on the squad, and has 16 total blocks, including 12 solos, second on the team. DeTemple has two matches with double-digit kills, putting up her season-high of 14 kills in the win over Northampton on 9/9. DeTemple hit .378 in that match, posting six solo blocks and seven total blocks in the win. She had 12 kills in a loss to Lehigh Carbon to open the year, where she hit .423 and had three solo blocks. She has not played in the last three matches. She had seven kills, two aces, and seven digs in the loss to Lackawanna.

Sophomore setter Emma Guare is the main distributor for the Bears, putting up 193 assists, a 4.49 per set average. Guare also has 13 kills and 31 aces so far this season, as well as 47 digs. She had a season-best 43 assists in the win against Northampton on 9/9, where she also had two aces and four digs in the win. She has topped double figures nine times this year. She had just three assists in the win against Delco last weekend, but had eleven aces, a season-best. She had two kills, 19 assists, an ace, and nine digs in the loss to Lackawanna.
 
Xainaly Valdes is the head coach for Harcum, bringing with her nearly a decade of extensive experience. Valdes is a veteran of club volleyball and played for the Bears from 2019 through 2021. She also serves as the assistant coach for the men's team at Harcum.
 
The Match-Up
First serve between Lackawanna and Harcum is set for a 6:30pm ET start inside the Harcum gymnasium in Bryn Mawr, PA. There will be a video livestream available via the Harcum Athletics YouTube channel, linked HERE.
 
Lackawanna will be back to action at home on Saturday, October 12^th, when the Falcons play host in tri-match action against PSU Scranton and Lehigh Carbon CC inside the Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. The first match is scheduled for 10:00am ET, when the Falcons will take on the Nittany Lions from PSU Scranton. The Lions and the Cougars from Lehigh Carbon will play the middle match, tentatively scheduled for 12:00pm ET, then the Falcons and the Cougars will meet in a big EPAC matchup at 2:00pm ET.