8/31/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – A week after starting 2024 with a victory, Lackawanna College will look to get back into the swing of things with a pair of matches against PSU Hazleton and Cecil College in tri-match action on Saturday, August 31^st, inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. The event gets underway at 10:00am ET, when the Falcons take on PSU Hazleton. Then, the Nittany Lions and Cecil College will compete at 12:00pm ET. Finally, the Falcons and the Eagles will face off at 2:00pm ET to close out proceedings. There will be PPV livestreams available for all three matches via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network via lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
About The Falcons
Lackawanna College (1-0) swept past Genesee Community College last Friday, 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-16) in its season-opener at home. The Falcons had four separate players earn four or more kills, and had 19 service aces as a team in the victory.
 
First-year player Jana Hofmann (Colorado Springs, CO) led the way with four kills and nine service aces, along with a team-high eight digs. Neurdia Osias (Huntington Station, NY), Angelique Fuentes (Miami, FL), and Nadia Toth (Dalton, PA) all each had four kills, while Maddilyn Durfee (Buffalo, NY) had 12 assists. You can read the recap HERE.
 
The Falcons hit just .098 in 2023, 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.
 
Through one match, the Falcons are hitting .096, averaging 7.3 kills per set. Lackawanna had 39 digs as a team last week, and had their 19 aces in three sets, a 6.3 aces per set average. Genesee hit just -.014, with more errors (19) than kills (18).
 
Hofmann leads the way so far, with four kills and nine aces through her first match as a Falcon. Osias had four kills from her middle position, playing in a pair of sets last weekend. First-year player Delaney Petri (Delevan, NY) had three kills in her two sets of action against Genesee.
 
Fuentes, who led the team last year with over 200 kills, picked up four kills last week. 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. 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.
 
Toth had four kills and four service aces last weekend against Genesee. 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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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 17-23 in her time at Lackawanna and won 86 matches in seven years at Cedar Crest.
 
About PSU Hazleton
The Nittany Lions are opening their season with the match against Lackawanna College. Last year, each team opened the year against each other, and the Nits were dominant in three sets (25-19, 25-12, 25-12). PSU Hazleton went on to a 13-7 record last year. Hazleton made the PSUAC playoffs, but fell in the semi-finals in State College against Mont Alto in five sets.
 
Hazleton returns its top five scorers from last season, including outside hitter Sydney Mack, who had 249 kills in 19 matches last season. She also had 33 aces, second on the team, and was third in blocks with 18 total last season. Mack was outstanding against Lackawanna last year, putting up a match-high 14 kills.
 
Also back is Nora Jones, who was second on the team with 139 kills last year. Jones led the way with 35 service aces a year ago, plus 256 digs, which was second on the team. Jones didn't have a kill in only two sets of work last season against Lackawanna.
 
Sarah Ballek (96) and Kaytlin Kelley (89) are both back for the Lions this season, while Sophia Del Vacchio, who had 545 assists last year, also returns to the lineup.
 
Noel Kaufman, now in her third year in charge, returns to the bench for the Nittany Lions. Kaufman was an honorable mention USCAA All-American at PSU Schuylkill and transitioned to coaching soon after graduating from Schuylkill in 2021, taking over the Hazleton program.
 
About Cecil College
The Eagles will also be opening their season this weekend. Last year, Cecil compiled an 8-9 record, going 3-3 over its last six matches. After winning three straight to start the season, the Eagles dropped six of eight matches before the 3-3 run in to the finish, missing out on postseason play.
 
Last year's squad was first year heavy, with just three sophomores on the squad. Cecil hit .080, with 486 kills, averaging out to 8.53 kills per set. The Eagles had 165 service aces, just under three per set. Cecil had 28 solo blocks on the year.
 
Returning to the squad are three of the top four scorers from last year's team. Katarina Kuchera had 168 kills, tops on the squad, and she returns this season. Kuchera hit .130, averaging 3.05 kills per set, and had 29 service aces, second on the team.
 
Mollee Fraker (58 kills) and Rachel Mullins (34) both return to the team this season. Mullins led the squad with 30 service aces last year and was second on the team with 198 assists. Her 34 kills were fourth on the team. Fraker averaged over a kill per set, putting up 58 kills in 56 sets, good for third on the squad.
 
Cecil is led by head coach Eden Barton.
 
The Match-Up
The event gets underway at 10:00am ET, when the Falcons take on PSU Hazleton. Then, the Nittany Lions and Cecil College will compete at 12:00pm ET. Finally, the Falcons and the Eagles will face off at 2:00pm ET to close out proceedings.
 
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, September 4^th, when the Falcons host Harford Community College for a 7:00pm ET start inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. The last time these two teams got together, Harford won in three sets to win the NJCAA Mid Atlantic District Championship.