(Garden City, NY) This weekend the Lions hosted the Nassau Volleyball Invitational. A number of teams traveled far & wide to kick off the 2017 season.

The Lions first opponent was the Community College of Rhode Island. 7 of 9 players were starting freshman, and it took them a moment to get in the groove. They rallied during the third set to stay alive, but lost the 4th. Final scores were 18-25, 13-25, 25-21, 19-25.
 
After shaking off the cob webs off, the Lions were out for revenge. They took on Ulster Community College who was just coming off of a big win from Bergen CC, and they were bringing the heat. NCC didn't let their nerves get to them, and played with extreme confidence. Playing libero was Emily Angelastro, who sparked the defense with 10 digs and 5 aces. Yosmery Rodriguez wasn't far behind with 9 digs, 6 kills, and 2 aces. They pulled off the win in 3 sets. (25-18, 25-7, 25-16).

The third and final game of the night for the Lions was against Bergen. Sending nearly every ball back over the net, NCC was forced to pick up the pace. Angelastro was back for more picking up 15 digs, 3 aces, and a kill, while Yosmery Rodriguez was the outside hitter who captured 12 digs and 4 kills to help lock in the win. Emily Kaufman also made the highlight reel finishing with an impressive total of 16 digs. The final scores were 25-19, 25-17, 25-14 to wrap up the night.

Head Coach Kristine Abrams stated after the game, "This invitational was an excellent season opener for us. It has helped us gauge where we are so far, and now we can narrow down what we need to work on. I am extremely proud of these highly motivated women, and can't wait to see what the season brings us!"

Catch Lions Volleyball back in action at the Howard Invitational on September 2nd. Don't forget you can watch the team live at nassaulions.com!