Cougar Volleyball Team Aces First Home Test

The Genesee Community College volleyball team hosted five other teams with their home-opener by going a perfect 3-0 on the day. In addition to Genesee, other teams included SUNY Adirondack, Finger Lakes, North County, Hudson Valley and Monroe, who all compete in National Junior College Athletic Asociation Region III.

The Cougars were the lone team to sweep all of its opponents with a perfect 9-0 set record after a 3-0 sweep in wins over SUNY Adirondack, North Country and Hudson Valley.

Genesee's service points were at a premium as the Cougars hit almost 50 aces over the course of the three matches.

In the first Genesee match, the Cougars beat SUNY Adirondack 26-24, 25-15 and 25-23.

In the first set against the Wolverines, the Cougars trailed down the stretch 22-21, but got four of the last six points to take the closest of the three sets. The come-from-behind first-set win proved to be the impetus for the sweep.

In the second set the teams were tied midway through the set at 12-12, but Genesee took 13 of the last 16 points in impressive fashion.

In the third set, the Cougars trailed by as much as six points at 14-8 and the Timberwolves appeared in command at 22-17 until a pereserverant Cougar team scored eight of the last nine points to steal the win. Ana Carolina Cerezer Pinto put an exclamation point on the win by securing the final four points through serves with the last being one of her three aces.

The three late-rally set wins saw Genesee collectively put point stretches of 25-6 (4-2, 13-3, 8-1) when the sets was on the line to claim victory.

Pinto also led the team in digs (15) and kills (9), while Lyndsey Rowland added six blocks. Grace Zandrowicz also recorded three aces in the win over the Timberwolves.

In the second Genesee match, the Cougars looked their strongest with set scores of 25-15, 25-10 and 25-3 in the victory over North Country.

Genesee broke open the first set with 10 of the last 12 points, and then started the second set with 15 of the first 17 points. The Cougars dominated the Saints in the third set with their most impressive performance of the season in allowing only three set points. Both the second and third sets were ended by service aces.

In all, Genesee had 20 aces against North Country with six each coming from Sha-Ony Obispa and Katherine Alsworth, while Zandrowicz added five. Pinto led the team in kills with 10, while Zandrowicz had a team-high nine digs. Both Rowland and Kaitlyn VanSkiver added a pair of blocks.

In the third Genesee match that completed the sweep on the day, the Cougars beat Hudson Valley 25-7, 25-11 and 25-21.

Of the three set wins, the third was the most impressive after trailing by four points midway at 17-13. A Pinto kill finally brought the Cougars even at 21 before Alsworth provided four winning serves to end the match and seal the sweep.

In the first set against the Vikings, Pinto scored 11-consecutive points from serves to turn a close 7-5 set into an 18-5 runaway. Alsworth recorded six aces against Hudson Valley, with five coming from Pinto and four from VanSkiver. Pinto also had a team-high nine kills, while Audriana Reeves led in digs with 10.

Genesee next hosts Jamestown, who received votes in the last NJCAA Poll, on Sept. 11 at 6 p.m.