8/23/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The season is finally here, and Lackawanna College women's volleyball will get things started on Friday, August 23^rd, when the Falcons host the Cougars from Genesee CC inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. The match is set for a 6:00pm ET start and will be the season-opener for both squads. There will also be a PPV livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network via lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
About The Falcons
Lackawanna College enters the season looking to build upon the successes of a season ago, where the Falcons won 14 matches and took home the Region XIX Division II championship, the first title for the program since 2006. The Falcons return a majority of last year's team, which was comprised of all first-year players, and will look to mix in some talented recruits to give themselves some much-needed depth.
 
The Falcons hit just .098 last season, but steadily improved as the year went on, especially during a streak where they won seven of eight matches, including a pair of matches in the Region XIX championships. Lackawanna had nearly 270 service aces last season, averaging a little over three aces per set, but were hurt by errors throughout the year.
 
One of the returners looking to continue to have an impact is sophomore Angelique Fuentes (Miami, FL), who had over 200 kills last season to lead the team. Fuentes averaged a little over 2.5 kills per set, and hit at .150, second on the team. Fuentes had eleven matches with double-digits in kills, with a season-high 20 coming against Chesapeake last season. One of her most efficient hitting performances came against Delaware Tech, putting up 18 kills and hitting .282 in a four-set victory. 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.
 
Fellow sophomore Gabriela Gomez (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is also back, looking to fill a new role for the Falcons. Last year, Gomez played outside hitter and had over 120 kills, second on the team, and had 49 service aces, also second on the squad. Gomez had three matches with double-digit kills, putting up a season-high 13 against Montgomery County CC. She had a season-high nine service aces in a win against Lehigh Carbon CC last year and was second on the team with 266 digs. She had 13 matches with ten or more digs, and had a season-best 24 twice, in matches with Bergen CC and Lehigh Carbon. Gomez will use that prowess for digging to switch to a libero and defensive specialist role this season for Lackawanna.
 
Returning sophomore hitter Nadia Toth (Dalton, PA) returns to continue to help bolster the Lackawanna attack. Toth, who got off to a slow start last season, finished last year strong, becoming a reliable attacking option for the Falcons down the stretch. Toth had just over 120 kills on the year and led the team with a .164 hitting percentage on the year. She also had 35 service aces last season. Toth had four matches with double-digit kills, putting up a season-best 15 kills in a win against Delaware Tech. Her season-high of nine service aces came in a win against Manor College. She also had six matches with double-digit digs, putting up a season-high 19 digs in the Region XIX championship contest against County College of Morris.
 
Sophomore Alasiah Carter (Coatesville, PA) was the fourth Falcon with 100 or more kills last season and is an outside-hitter with some bounce for the Falcons. Carter had three matches with double-digit kills a year ago, including a season-best 19 kills in a five-set thriller against Lehigh Carbon CC. She had a season-best seven service aces in a win against Delaware Tech last year, and she had nine or more matches with double-digit digs. Her season-best was 24 digs against Bergen CC.
 
Sophomore setter Maddilyn Durfee (Buffalo, NY) 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 accomplished twice in matches against Bergen CC and Montgomery County CC.
 
Also back is sophomore Zoe Ortueta (Miami, FL), who was the main libero for the Falcons last year, but will be a bit more fluid in her positioning this season. Ortueta led the Falcons with 348 digs last year and had 32 service aces. Ortueta had 17 matches with double-digit digs, putting up a season-best 43 in five sets against Lehigh Carbon. She had a season-high seven service aces in the win against Manor last year.
 
Sophomore defensive specialist Mekenzie Dineen (Wilmington, DE) returns to the team after missing all of last year due to injury. Dineen, who is also a member of the softball team at Lackawanna, was injured in warm-ups of the first match last season and missed the entire athletic season. Her presence will help boost the Falcons at the back.
 
New players figuring to contribute right away include: Delianie Del Bois (New Port Richey, FL), a rangy libero and defensive specialist; Jana Hofmann (Colorado Springs, CO), an outside hitter with pop to bolster the offensive attack from the Falcons; Mya Mackenzie (Allentown, PA) and Neurdia Osias (Huntington Station, NY), a pair of middle hitters to shore up the Falcons up the middle; Aryana Girvan (Clarion, PA) and Delaney Petri (Delevan, NY), two outside hitters to give the Falcons depth on the fringes; and Damilys Bruno Gonzalez (Tobyhanna, PA), another defensive specialist.
 
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 16-23 in her two years at Lackawanna and won 86 matches in seven years at Cedar Crest.
 
About Genesee CC
The Cougars, who compete in NJCAA Division III out of Region 3, went 10-17 last season. They, like Lackawanna, were 7-9 at one point last year, but struggled down the stretch, finishing the month of October at just 3-8, dropping a 3-0 loss to Fulton-Montgomery CC in the Region 3 semis to end the season.
 
Last year's squad averaged 6.79 kills per set and hit .062 on the year. They had 273 service aces and averaged just under three per set.
 
The Cougars lost their top two leaders in kills from a year ago, but a trio of first-year players in Elena Azzi, Marissa Ciufo, and Sydney Hnat will look to step up. Azzi and Ciufo each had over 100 kills last year. Ciufo had 33 service aces, while Azzi had 12 solo blocks and 13 block assists, both second on the team. Hnat had 74 kills and a team-high 15 solo blocks for Genesee last year.
 
Tim Lincoln is the head coach for Genesee CC, now in his fourth season, having been in charge since the 2021 campaign. Lincoln, like Reese, took over a program that had been dormant due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and, after a tough first season, he quickly rounded the Cougars into shape, going 19-16 in year two. Lincoln came to Genesee with 20 years of volleyball coaching experience at the high school level, including serving as the head varsity coach at Medina HS since 2008. Lincoln is 33-47 in his three previous seasons combined.
 
The Match-Up
The match is the season-opening match for both Lackawanna and Genesee CC on the year. It's scheduled to start at 6:00pm ET on Friday, August 23^rd, inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. Admission is free to the public. There is also a PPV video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
Lackawanna is next in action on Wednesday, August 28^th, when the Falcons host their former rival, Keystone College, for a scrimmage inside the Student Union gymnasium. Their next official match will be a tri-match on Saturday, August 31^st, when the Falcons host Penn State Hazleton and Cecil College in the Student Union gymnasium. The first match, Lackawanna vs. PSU Hazleton, will start at 10:00am.