(Middletown, NY) The Women's Volleyball Team competed in the Region XV Division III Tournament Finals last week. The winner of this tournament would move on to the NJCAA National Championship in Rochester, Minnesota in early November. 

The Lions first took on Rockland Community College in the semi-finals. It was a back and forth battle, going all the way to 5 games over a span of 2.5 hours. The first set the Lions came out on top finishing 25-14. Rockland barely got the best of them in the next set with a final score of 22-25. The Lions took back over in the third set 27-25. NCC was close to sealing the deal when Rockland hit a few key points in a row, and took the set 24-26. It all came down to the last set. The Lions weren't ready to give up their chance at the National Championship just yet. They pulled together for a real team effort, and knocked off Rockland in a close 18-16 set. Key players Kiara Tibbs tallied a total of 24 kills. Genesis Zepeda finished with 12 kills, 10 assists, and 15 digs. Alicja Zaborowska had 11 kills, an impressive 42 assists, and 20 digs. Emily Angelastro helped capture the win with 3 aces and 23 digs. 

Moving onto Finals, the Lions went head to head with Queensborough Community College. NCC brought the heat, but Queensborough was on top of their game, and took the first set 14-25. The Lions responded finishing the second set 25-20. Just as Nassau was getting in the groove, Queensborough took back the third set finishing 11-25. NCC went into the fourth set determined, but came up short with the final score being 19-25. Kiara Tibbs was back for 12 kills, 1 block solo, and 2 block assists, while Emily Angelastro crushed 17 digs. Both Tibbs and Angelastro were named to the All-Tournament Team. 

The young team of 7 freshman and 2 sophomores, finished the season in a total of 23 wins and only 11 losses.

Head Coach Kristine Abrams commented after the final match, "We had a really great season filled with different challenges and opportunities that we used to learn and grow from in the game of volleyball. Most of our team will be returning next year, and I am very excited to see where next season takes us as they continue to develop and grow more hungry for the championship."