9/7/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – For the second time this season, Lackawanna College women's volleyball is hosting a tri-match on a Saturday morning. The Falcons are set to host the Montgomery County Community College Mustangs and the SUNY Westchester Vikings inside the Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium on Saturday, September 7^th.
 
There will be three matches on the day, and admission is free to the public all afternoon. Match one has a 10:00am ET start time, as Lackawanna and Montco open the proceedings. The second match is tentatively scheduled for 12:00pm ET, between the visiting Mustangs and SUNY Westchester. The third and final match is set for a 2:00pm ET start, between the Vikings from Westchester and Lackawanna. There will be a pay-per-view livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network via lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
About The Falcons
Lackawanna College (3-1) is off to a solid start to the season, having won its first three contests before dropping a match this past week at home against Harford CC, 3-0. The visiting Owls were dominant throughout, serving with aplomb and keeping the Lackawanna defense on its heels most of the evening. You can read the full 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 four matches in 2024, the Falcons are hitting at a collective .162 clip. The Falcons have 40 aces in three games, averaging 2.9 aces per set, and are up to 16.5 digs per set so far this year. Opponents are hitting .130 on the year and have 28 aces vs. 47 errors on serve so far this season. The Falcons are at 0.9 blocks per set, and their opponents are at 1.1 blocks per set.
 
First-year outside hitter Jana Hofmann (Colorado Springs, CO) leads the squad this season with 33 kills through four matches. Hofmann is also first on the team with 16 service aces, and 47 digs. She's hitting at a .195 clip, third on the team among players with 40 or more attacks. Hofmann has double-digit kills in two of four matches this season, with a season-high 14 coming against Cecil this weekend. She hit .406 in the win over the Eagles. Against PSU Hazleton, Hofmann had eleven kills in five sets, while also putting up four service aces and 23 digs. Hofmann had a pair of big kills in the fifth set to help the Falcons knock off the Nittany Lions. Hofmann had four kills and ten digs in the loss to Harford CC.
 
Sophomore middle hitter Nadia Toth (Dalton, PA) is tied for second on the team with 20 kills so far this season, hitting at .143. Toth has five service aces so far on the season, tied for second on the squad. Toth had 35 aces last year. Her five block assists so far this season are tops on the team, and she has eleven digs on the year. Toth had a team-best 12 kills against PSU Hazleton this past weekend, hitting .323 in the match. Toth had the final points in all three sets the Falcons won against Hazleton. Toth had over 120 kills last season, second on the team. She had just one kill on ten attempts against Harford CC.
 
First-year middle hitter Neurdia Osias (Huntington Station, NY) has been the most efficient hitter for the Falcons on the year, hitting at a blistering .450 clip this season with 20 kills, tied with Toth for second on the team. Osias is second on the team with four total blocks this year. Neurdia had a combined 14 kills in two matches this past weekend, including eight kills on .412 hitting against PSU Hazleton. She followed that up with six kills on .545 hitting in the sweep over Cecil College. She had two block assists in both matches. She had two kills and a dig in the loss to Harford.
 
First-year outside hitter Aryana Girvan (Clarion, PA) is fourth on the team with 19 kills this year, hitting at .200 through four matches this year. Girvan has three service aces and 20 digs so far this season. In back-to-back matches last Saturday, Girvan had six kills for the Falcons, putting up six on .148 hitting against PSU Hazleton, and then six again on .385 hitting against Cecil. She also had a season-high eight digs in the win against Cecil. Girvan made it three matches in a row with six more kills against Harford on Wednesday.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Angelique Fuentes (Miami, FL) has 13 kills through her first four matches. She has two service aces, three digs, and two block assists on the year. Fuentes had six kills and her two aces in the five-set win against Hazleton last weekend, then a pair of kills in one set played against Cecil. She had a kill and a dig in the loss to Harford. Fuentes 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.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Alasiah Cater (Coatesville, PA) has double-digit kills on the year with 13 in four matches. Carter has 12 digs and four block assists on the year. She had her season-high five kills on .400 hitting in the win against Cecil last Saturday. She had a season-high six digs and four kills in the win against PSU Hazleton. Carter had three kills, a dig, and two block assists in the loss to Harford. She was the fourth Falcon with 100 or more kills a year ago, and had three matches with double-digit kills last year, 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) leads the team with 53 assists on the year, and has five service aces, tied with Toth for second on the team through the early going. Durfee has 24 digs on the year, fourth on the team. She has reached double-digit assists in three of the first four matches so far this season, with a season-best 19 coming in the five-set victory against PSU Hazleton. Durfee also had a season-best ten digs in that match. She had eight assists and two digs in the loss to Harford. 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 accomplished twice in matches against Bergen CC and Montgomery County CC.
 
Sophomore defensive specialist Zoe Ortueta (Miami, FL) is second on the team with 48 assists on the year, averaging just under 3.5 assists per set. Ortueta, who was a libero a year ago, has 31 digs, third on the team. She had a team-high 24 assists against PSU Hazleton and has two matches with ten or more assists on the year. She also had a season-best 14 digs in the win against the Nittany Lions. She had five assists, eight digs, and an ace in the loss to Harford this week. 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.
 
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 19-23 in her time at Lackawanna and won 86 matches in seven years at Cedar Crest.
 
About Montgomery County CC
Saturday's contest will serve as the season-opener for the Mustangs, who went 12-10 last year. The Mustangs won six straight at one point last season, including a 3-1 win against the Falcons at home. They also rattled off five-of-six down the back stretch but dropped a five-set match to Lackawanna on the road. Montco struggled through their final three matches, dropping a 3-1 decision to Harrisburg, before a pair of 3-0 sweeps to PSU Brandywine and Raritan Valley CC, the latter in the playoffs, to end its season.
 
Last year, the Mustangs averaged 10.5 kills per set, hitting .206 on the season. Montco had 298 service aces, averaging just slightly under four aces per set last year. The Mustangs averaged 13.9 digs per set, and just over one block per set.
 
Only two players return from last year's team, including leading hitter Veronika Paciorek. Last year, Paciorek led the way with 185 kills through 22 games, averaging 2.61 kills per set. Paciorek hit .186 last year and led the Mustangs with 42 service aces. She was third on the team with 139 digs, and seven total blocks last season. She had a combined 30 kills and 29 digs in the two matches last year against Lackawanna. She had 17 in the win at home early in the year, then 13 in the loss at Lackawanna later in the season.
 
Setter Brooke Moffa is also returning from last season, where she led the Mustangs with 341 helpers, averaging 4.61 per set. Her 37 service aces were second on last year's team, and she also managed to put up 34 kills on the year. She had 23 assists and three service aces in the win last year against the Falcons.
 
Fresh faces include sophomore outside hitter Ciara Kicinski, first year outside hitter Summer Hondros, setter Despina Kourtidis, and middle blockers Bridget McAvoy and Sara Sadleir.
 
Montco alum Miljana Vukslavovic is the head coach for the Mustangs, entering her third season. She was a two-year captain and an All-Region XIX performer for the Mustangs.
 
About SUNY Westchester
The Vikings are 0-1 on the season, dropping their opener to SUNY Orange by a 3-0 margin (25-12, 25-21, 25-20).
 
Westchester was 8-10 last season, hitting .052 as a team, with 403 total kills and averaging 6.1 per set. The Vikings had 159 aces on the year, 2.4 per set, and averaged 11.7 digs per set. Westchester was a decent blocking side, averaging 1.8 blocks per set a year ago.
 
Three Vikings return from last year's team, including Julia Pawlowicz, who led the squad with 127 kills on the year, averaging just over two kills per set. Pawlowicz hit .129 last season and had a team-best 43 service aces in 2023. Her 96 digs were fourth on the team, and she had 17 solo blocks, third on the squad.
 
Also back is Jamie Lopez and Megan O'Hara, who both played sparingly last season. Each had two kills on the season, while Lopez had eleven service aces. Lopez had 37 digs last year, while O'Hara only managed a pair.
 
Philip Toscano is the head coach for the Vikings.
 
The Match-Up
There will be three matches on Saturday, and admission is free to the public all afternoon. Match one has a 10:00am ET start time, as Lackawanna and Montco open the proceedings. The second match is tentatively scheduled for 12:00pm ET, between the visiting Mustangs and SUNY Westchester. The third and final match is set for a 2:00pm ET start, between the Vikings from Westchester and Lackawanna. There will be a pay-per-view livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network via lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
The Falcons are back to work on Tuesday, September 10^th, when Lackawanna is set to host County College of Morris for their Region XIX DII opener. The match is set for a 6:00pm ET start form inside the Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium.