Erie Community College, State University of New York

The Erie Community College (4-1/3-0 Region III) volleyball team is off to its best start since the program was reinstated in 2001 thanks to a second place finish at the Broome Invitational Saturday.

Erie advanced to the semifinals after going undefeated in pool play. The Kats opened the tournament with a 2-0 (25-14, 25-17) win over Suffolk Community College-Grant, which set the stage for a meeting with Western New York Athletic Conference rival and nationally 10th-ranked Jamestown Community College. Jamestown won the first game 25-18 but the Kats rebounded to win game two 25-23 and game three 15-7. Erie then finished off pool play with a 2-1 (23-25, 28-26, 15-7) win over Broome Community College.

In the semifinals, the Kats cruised past Onondaga Community College 2-0 (25-20, 25-18) before losing a tough 2-1 (25-16, 23-25, 15-3) decision to Genesee Community College in the title match.

Sophomore Belinda Hernon was named to the All-Tournament Team after posting 29 kills with only eight hitting errors at the tournament. Freshman Julia Matters led the team with 32 kills and freshman Alex DiGiore had 41 digs. Freshman Katie Boxler paced the offense with 109 assists on the day.

Erie’s service game netted 31 aces. Hernon and Boxler had nine aces apiece.

“Offensively, everything clicked because of the great passing from Julia (Matters) and Alex (DiGiore),” stated head coach Craig Starzynski. “I think they were the MVP’s of the weekend. Their serve-receive passing allowed our offense to run quickly and efficiently, resulting in a ton of kills.”

Erie returns to action Thursday, September 3 when it visits Mercyhurst Northeast for a tri-match. Erie will face Mercyhurst at 4 p.m. and Cuyahoga Community College at 6 p.m.