9/26/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Winners of three straight matches, Lackawanna College women's volleyball will take on two tough opponents this weekend in tri-match action, as the Falcons host Raritan Valley CC and Monroe University on Saturday, September 27th, inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium. The day's schedule looks like this:

10:00am ET: Lackawanna vs. Raritan Valley CC
12:00pm ET: Raritan Valley CC vs. Monroe University
2:00pm ET: Lackawanna vs. Monroe University

Tickets can be purchased at the door for both adults ($10) and students 12 years and younger ($5), as well as seniors aged 65 and up ($5). There are NO cash sales options for tickets. You can also purchase tickets online at lackawannafalcons.com/tickets. Lackawanna College employees and students can gain free admission with a valid Lackawanna College ID.
 
For those who can't make it in person, there will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE. Sports Information Director Tom Ferguson will handle the play-by-play.
 
Compare the Teams

Teams	Kills Per Set	Hitting %	Assists Per Set	Aces Per Set	Blocks Per Set
LC (5-5)	9.5	.145	8.0	2.9	1.1
RVCC (6-8)	6.5	.082	5.6	3.2	1.2
MU (15-6)	11.7	.226	9.7	3.1	1.4

  
About the Falcons
Lackawanna (5-5) has won three straight matches, most recently victorious in the match against Union this past Thursday. The Falcons swept the Owls (25-17, 25-15, 25-11) in straight sets and got contributions from up-and-down the roster for the win. You can read the full recap HERE.
 
Sophomore hitter Jana Hofmann (Colorado Springs, CO), an All-American last year, leads the Falcons in several categories this season. Jana's 15 kills against Harcum last Thursday are a season-high, and it came while hitting .628% on the night. Hofmann has gone over double-digit kills in four of her last six matches. She's hitting .213 in that span, and she has 27 aces in those six matches. She had eight kills against Union on Thursday night.
 
First-year middle blocker Ciona Braziel (Fort Worth, TX) is second on the team with 71 kills this season. Braziel leads the Falcons at .222 hitting this year, and she's also the best blocker on the squad with 19 total blocks. Braziel has gone over double-digits in kills in three matches this year. Her season-high 17 kills came in a loss to Northampton CC back on September 5^th. Braziel missed the Union match, carrying an injury.
 
First-year hitter Aryanna Brown (Chester, NY) is third on the team at 62 kills this year, hitting .168 this season entering the Union match-up. Brown has 15 aces, third on the team, and she has 44 digs on the year. Brown has two matches with double-digit kills on the year, posting her season-best at 13 kills in the win against Morris back on September 9^th. Brown had five kills in the win against Union on Thursday night.
 
Lackawanna Leaders (As Of 9/24)
Points – Hofmann (119.5)
Points Per Set – Hofmann (3.73)
Kills – Hofmann (88)
Kills Per Set – Hofmann (2.75)
Hitting % - Braziel (.222)
Assists – Reed (124)
Assists Per Set – Reed (3.88)
Service Aces – Hofmann (27)
Aces Per Set – Hofmann (0.84)
Digs – Hofmann (108)
Digs Per Set – Hofmann (3.38)
Reception % - Dineen (.939)
Solo Blocks – Braziel (7)
Block Assists – Braziel (12)
Total Blocks – Brazile (19)
 
The head coach is Shelby Reese, now in her fourth season in charge of the Falcons. Reese won a Region XIX championship in her second season back in 2023, the first region title for the Falcons since 2006. She helped lead the Falcons to a 17-win season in 2024, and Hofmann was named a second-team All-American on the year, the first All-American in program history. Reese, who originally joined Lackawanna as an Academic Advisor, was the head coach at Cedar Crest College for seven seasons, going 86-63 in her time there and helping the Falcons make the NCAA tournament in her final year in 2021. Reese played collegiately at Keystone College, where she is inside the top ten all-time in kills in a year, career kills, and total attacks, as well as career digs and service aces. Reese is 38-37 in her time at Lackawanna College.
 
About the Lions
Raritan Valley CC (6-8) enters the contest after dropping three of its last four matches. The Lions fell 3-1 to Brookdale at home on Wednesday evening in their last contest. Raritan won the first set, 25-17, then dropped a narrow second set at 27-25, but the Lions struggled hitting the ball and Brookdale pounced in the third and fourth sets, winning 25-12 and 25-19 to take the victory.

Raritan Valley is a year removed from a national tournament appearance at the Division III level, winning 23 matches, a region championship, and then making an appearance at the national tournament.
 
First-year setter Emma Kovacs leads the team in kills (95), kills per set (1.98), and aces (46). Kovacs is hitting .168 on the season, first on the team, and she's second on the Lions at 96 assists. She has three matches with double-digit kills in her last five contests, posting a season-best 16 kills in a five-set win against Passaic on September 22nd, where she hit .303. She also had 13 kills while hitting .500 against PSU Lehigh Valley back on September 13th. Kovacs had nine kills on a season-high 51 attempts in the loss to Brookdale on Wednesday.
 
First-year hitter Nyah Hermann is second on the team at 72 kills, averaging 1.5 kills per set and hitting .139 on the year. Hermann has 14 aces on the season. She has two matches with double-digit kills, recording back-to-back matches with ten kills against Northampton CC and Ocean County on September 15th and 17th. She had a season-high four aces in the 3-0 win against RCSJ Gloucester back on September 6th. Hermann had seven kills on .148 hitting in the loss to Brookdale.
 
First-year middle blocker Ra-Yanah Brown-Smith is third on the team with 41 kills this season. She's hitting .085, has eleven aces, and leads the team with 18 solo blocks and 38 total blocks this season. Brown-Smith had a season-hgih eight kills in the loss to Brookdale on Wednesday. Her season-best block output (5) came againts the College of Southern Maryland on August 31st, where she also put up four kills in a 3-1 loss.
 
Raritan Valley Leaders
Points – Kovacs (148.5)
Points Per Set – Kovacs (3.1)
Kills – Kovacs (95)
Kills Per Set – Kovacs (1.98)
Hitting % - Kovacs (.168)
Assists – Munday (123)
Assists Per Set – Munday (2.56)
Service Aces – Kovacs (46)
Aces Per Set – Kovacs (0.96)
Digs – Stayskal (178)
Digs Per Set – Stayskal (3.71)
Solo Blocks – Brown-Smith (18)
Block Assists – Brown-Smith (20)
Total Blocks – Brown-Smith (38)
 
The head coach for Raritan Valley CC is Phil Herro, now in his eleventh season as head coach with the Lions. After a club season in 2015, Herro's squad transitioned to full-time varsity in 2016. By 2017, he had the Lions winning 20 league games and finishing as runner-up in the Region XIX playoffs. Herro's team has captured five championships in its last six seasons, including a Division II title in the spring 2021 season. Herro's squads have been to the NJCAA national tournament four times. He won a program-record 29 matches in 2023. Overall, Herro, who is also the women's basketball coach, is 184-68 in his time at Raritan Valley CC.

About the Mustangs
 Monroe (15-6) has won nine straight matches entering the weekend. The Mustangs were victorious this past Wednesday night at Harcum College, beating the Bears in straight sets (25-12, 25-10, 25-12) and hitting .349 on the night with 44 kills as a team.

Last year, Monroe went 24-6 and won the Region XIX Division II tournament, knocking off Lackawanna College in the title match to advance to the Mid Atlantic District match. Harford CC defeated the Mustangs to advance to the national tournament.

First-year hitter Adriana Garcia leads the Mustangs with 165 kills this season, averaging 2.6 per set and hitting at .257. She's got 27 aces on the year and 82 digs, while posting six solo blocks and 20 total rejections. She has ten matches with ten or more kills this year, posting a season-high 16 kills in a win against Hagerstown CC on September 19th. She had 13 kills on .545 hitting in the sweep against Harcum earlier this week.

First-year hitter Alisha Pereira Rodriguez-Wells is second on the team with 155 kills and a 2.21 kills per set average this year. She's hitting .222 and has 31 aces, second on the Mustangs this year. Pereira Rodriguez-Wells has 90 digs and 13 total blocks this season. She has four matches with double-digit kills on the season, posting a season-best 15 kills on .344 hitting in a 3-1 win against Pasco-Hernando back on September 3rd. She had eight kills in the sweep over Harcum earlier this week.

Sophomore Jelena Peric is third on the team with 130 kills this year through 20 matches, averaging 2.2 kills per set. Peric is hitting .216 this season, and she has 23 aces, 78 digs, and ten total blocks this year. Peric has three double-digit outputs in kills this year, posting a season-best 13 kills on .429 hitting againts Delaware Tech back on September 9th. She had five kills in the win against Harcum.

The head coach for the Mustangs is Nepthali Degaldo Reyes, now in his 14th season in charge of the Mustangs. Delgado Reyes is of Puerto Rican heritage and has an impressive track record of success at Monroe. He has won 30+ matches in six seasons, capturing 12 region championships, eleven district championships, and eight NJCAA tournament appearances in his career. Coach Delgado Reyes has an all-time record at Monroe of 388-117 since taking over in 2011.

The Matches
The day's schedule inside the historic Lackawanna College Student Union gymnasium looks like this:

10:00am ET: Lackawanna vs. Raritan Valley CC
12:00pm ET: Raritan Valley CC vs. Monroe University
2:00pm ET: Lackawanna vs. Monroe University

Tickets can be purchased at the door for both adults ($10) and students 12 years and younger ($5), as well as seniors aged 65 and up ($5). There are NO cash sales options for tickets. You can also purchase tickets online at lackawannafalcons.com/tickets. Lackawanna College employees and students can gain free admission with a valid Lackawanna College ID.
 
For those who can't make it in person, there will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE. Sports Information Director Tom Ferguson will handle the play-by-play.
 
Next Up
Lackawanna College is home once again in its next contest, as the Falcons welcome Harford CC to Scranton for a non-region match-up inside the Student Union. First serve is scheduled for 5:00pm ET. Tickets can be obtained in advance at lackawannafalcons.com/tickets.

There will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE. Sports Information Director Tom Ferguson will handle the play-by-play.