The Genesee Community College volleyball team can add another accolade to its 2014 season after the Cougars defeated Harcum College (PA) out of Region 19 in straight sets on Saturday afternoon to earn the District L title and a bid into the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Tournament. GCC, already crowned the Region III Division II champion, used its home court advantage to drop Harcum 25-17, 27-25, 25-23.
Ai Miyazaki tallied 27 digs and 10 kills on the afternoon and broke a 4-4 tie on serve in the first game when she led Genesee to four straight points and an 8-4 advantage. GCC kept its distance throughout the rest of the set and rolled to a 1-0 lead in the match.
Out to a 4-0 lead in the second set, the Cougars lost four straight points and then faced its largest deficit in the contest. GCC was down four points as late in the set as 20-16, but mounted a comeback out of a timeout and edged Harcum to take a 2-0 lead.
Genesee took an early lead in the third game but gave up seven out of nine points midway through to allow Harcum to tie the set at 17 apiece. The Cougars rallied out of another timeout and went on a 7-2 run to take a 24-19 lead and Nina DiFante put the finishing touches on the match will the game-winning kill to send GCC to its 16th national tournament appearance in school history.
Nohema Garcia Torres recorded 37 assists, Stephanie Toledo and Kelsey Wright had nine and eight kills respectively and Haley Case added four aces.
Genesee will travel to Phoenix, AZ on Nov. 20 for the national tournament. First round opponent and match time to be announced.
