LCCC Commodores Derail No. 3 Express In Four Sets

September 25, 2024 - - There is a first time for everything and on Wednesday night it was the Commodores turn to beat Owens Community College.  The Lorain County Community College volleyball team shocked the NJCAA DIII No. 3 Express inside the Ewing Activities Center Gymnasium in four sets (25-22, 25-22, 19-25, 27-25) to win their fourth straight contest and hand Owens their first conference loss of the 2024 season.

Top Commodores

Isabella Beck (Wellington, Ohio/Wellington HS): 23 kills, .286 hitting, 14 digs, 2 blocks

Gabriella Habeck (Huron, Ohio/Edison HS): 16 kills, 19 digs, .216 hitting

Ava Haddix (Amherst, Ohio/Marion L. Steele HS): 55 assists, 12 digs

Paige Grobolsek (Sheffield Village, Ohio/Brookside HS): 21 digs

Nilaysia Todd (Lorain, Ohio/Clearview HS): 8 kills, 2 blocks, .444 hitting

Teniya Jenkins (Cleveland, Ohio/Trinity HS): 6 kills, .214 hitting

Jacqueline Augustine (Sheffield, Ohio/Magnificat HS): 7 kills, .429 hitting

It is the first time in Head Coach Ted Whitsel's career with LCCC that he has defeated Owens (14-5, 5-1).  There have been chances, mainly last season where the Commodores fell in five sets in Perrysburg and in 2022 when the Commodores comeback effort fell short at home in five. But on Wednesday night, everything clicked and it meant victory.

When they traveled to Owens on September 4 for their first match up, nothing went right for the Commodores and they fell in straight sets.  They never scored more than 20 points in a set, they hit .158 as a team, only mustered 38 kills, and combined for 56 digs.  In the rematch, LCCC hit .260 as a team, combined for 61 kills as a team, and had 81 digs.

LCCC used comebacks in games one and two to jump out to a 2-0 lead before staving off a late Owens rally in the fourth set to take the overtime win and move into a first place tie with the Express in the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference.

Isabella Beck had her first 20+ kill game of the season and reigning OCCAC Player of the Week Gabriella Habeck kept her hot streak alive with 16 kills and 19 digs.  Ava Haddix put together another solid night of setting up her teammates with 55 assists, an improvement from 32 assist performance in first match up with Owens.

Next Up:

The Commodores will travel to Lakeland Community College on Monday for a date with the Lakers in Kirtland, Ohio.  LCCC defeated the Lakers in the Ewing Activities Center Gymnasium on September 18^th, 2024 in four sets.  Match begins at 6 p.m.