Women’s Volleyball Falls to National Champs at DIII Championships
Lady Cougars to Play in Consolation Bracket of National Tournament
(Cedar Rapids, IA) – The Lady Cougars lost their first-round matchup at the NJCAA Division III Volleyball Championship on Thursday afternoon, falling to the two-time defending national champions Dallas College Eastfield (TX). Holyoke will continue to play in the consolation bracket of the tournament where they can finish as high as ninth place in the event.
All 12 Lady Cougars got onto the court to play in the HCC women's volleyball program's first ever national championship tournament game. Serymar Santos (Santo Domingo, DR / Holyoke HS) played well for Holyoke, registering eight digs, eight assists and a block. Santos had one of just two aces the Cougars earned against the top seeded Lady Harvester Bees with Shaliyah Toledo-Cruz (Springfield, MA / Sabis International Charter HS) serving the other. Isabelle Garutti (Springfield, MA / Sabis International Charter HS) led the way in digs for the Cougars, tallying nine, and Caidence White (Springfield, MA / Central HS) led in kills with four.
The #16 seeded Lady Cougars (19-5 overall, 18-2 regionally) will square off against the #9 seed Finger Lakes CC (NY) (27-4 overall, 7-0 regionally) in the consolation bracket on Friday, November 14th at 12pm CT (1pm EST/local). Any loss in the consolation stage of the tournament would be Holyoke's final game. An HCC win in their next match would advance the team to another game to be played on Friday at 4:30pm CT (5:30pm EST/local). Two straight wins on Friday would give Holyoke a spot in the ninth-place game which is scheduled for 10am CT (11am EST/local) on Saturday, November 15th. Let's go Cougars!
Click here to see the NJCAA Division III Volleyball Championship bracket
Photo: Santos sets with Toledo-Cruz and White as her targets.