Volleyball Advances to Host New England Championship
Lady Cougars Victorious in Regional Semifinal
(Holyoke, MA) – Women's volleyball claimed their spot in the New England championship game with a 3-0 straight set victory over Northern Essex CC in Friday night's semifinal. The top-seeded Lady Cougars stormed past their opposition, winning the sets 25-18, 25-17 and 25-18.
Jaylanie Nieves (Holyoke, MA / Chicopee HS) and Caidence White (Springfield, MA / Central HS) took charge for Holyoke in the semifinal. Neives had 11 points with eight kills and two aces. White had ten points from ten kills and added ten digs. Isabelle Garutti (Springfield, MA / Sabis International Charter HS) and Alianiz Bonilla (Springfield, MA / Commerce HS) led the way in digs, both registering 18. Including Garutti and Bonilla, five Cougars tallied double digits in digs and six served up a pair of aces. Serymar Santos (Santo Domingo, DR / Holyoke HS) set beautifully, racking up 30 assists, and was one of the six Cougars with two service aces.
The Lady Cougars (18-4 overall, 17-2 regional) will host the New England championship game, taking on the #2 seed CC of Rhode Island (15-7 overall, 15-4 regional). The championship will be played on Sunday, November 2nd at 1pm at HCC's Bartley Center. Holyoke defeated CCRI in both meetings during the regular season, 3-0 at home and 3-2 on the road. A victory on Sunday would give HCC women's volleyball their first New England championship since 2014. Let's go Cougars!
Photo: Santos (#5) sets with Nieves (#15) and White (#7) among her intended targets.