CONTACT: Adam Sopris, a.sopris@hvcc.edu, (518) 629-7898 or (518) 416-2137
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Saturday, October 21, 2023
The Hudson Valley Community College women's volleyball program placed third in the 2023 Mountain Valley Conference championship tournament, hosted by Fulton-Montgomery on Saturday afternoon in Johnstown, NY.
GAME ONE (Semifinal): ADIRONDACK 3, HUDSON VALLEY 0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-11)
The opening game of the day featured a tough matchup with Adirondack, a program the Vikings have been battling all season long in the Region 3 and conference standings this season. The Vikings narrowly missed a chance to steal a set in the first and second sets, which ultimately went to the Timberwolves. Following the battle in the first two sets, the short-handed Vikings ran out of gas with Adirondack taking the final set 25-11.
As a team, Hudson Valley accumulated 20 kills, 17 assists and 106 digs against a strong attack from Adirondack. Leading the Vikings attack was Abbigail Newell, who finished with seven kills and Abby Taylor added six kills on 17 attempts and 27 digs with no serve receive errors in 17 attempts. Newell added 24 digs and added one service ace on the day.
GAME TWO (Consolation Game): HUDSON VALLEY 3, HERKIMER 0 (25-9, 25-18, 25-16)
In the consolation match, the Vikings defeated Herkimer in straight sets to earn a third-place finish at the MVC championships. Newell continued her strong play as she finished with a team-high 11 kills on 29 attack attempts for a .240 hitting percentage. Taylor also continued her strong hitting as she finished with seven kills on 18 attack attempts and added 23 digs and a team-best five service aces on a team-high 21 service attempts.
Sidney Phillips hit the ball well with six kills on 15 attack attempts and tallied a pair of service aces on nine service attempts. Regina Ware-Salazar accumulated 26 assists in the three-set win and added six digs, two kills and one service ace for a well-rounded match.
UP NEXT: It was announced on Friday the women's volleyball program clinched the No. 7 seed in next weekend's NJCAA Region 3 Championships, hosted by Niagara CC in Sanborn, NY. Volleyball will take on No. 2 Finger Lakes on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. The 2023 team continues to reach new heights as this is the first postseason berth for the program since 2008 and just the second Region 3 championship appearance in over 20-plus years.