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The Raritan Valley Community College Women’s Volleyball team had a stellar season, finishing with a rank of #9 in the country in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XIX. The 9th-place finish is the highest ranking in the program's history.

The Lions secured their place in the NJCAA DIII National Championship Tournament after winning both the Region XIX Championship and the North Atlantic District A Championship. The NJCAA DIII National Championship Tournament was held November 11-13 in Rochester, Minnesota. Since no Tournament was held last year, this marked back-to-back trips to the national competition for the team, which finished in 10th place in 2019.

Last week, RVCC lost its first-round game in the national competition, 3-1, against Finger Lakes Community College. The loss meant that the team could only finish the tournament with a ranking as high as #9 if it were to win its last two games. The Lions then beat Rockland Community College, 3-1, to advance to the 9th-place game against Brookhaven College. Although the Lions lost the first two sets by large margins, they came back to beat Brookhaven in five sets with a final score of 3-2.

Expressing his pride in the team, RVCC Coach Phil Herro said, “We constantly talk about growth and becoming better than we were the day before, and this team has grown so much. This team fights and competes with the best of them. That last game against Brookhaven really says a lot about the character of these girls and their will to win."

RVCC freshman Kaili Fitzpatrick was one of just 12 players named to the All-Tournament Team for her tremendous performance in the games.

"We have a wonderful group of young women here and I am more than proud to be their coach. This group is very talented and I am honored and lucky to be around such inspirational, fun, hard-working, positive athletes every day,” continued Herro.

The Lions finished the season with an overall record of 24-6 and a 17-1 record in regular season Region XIX play. The team also captured its fourth straight Garden State Athletic Conference Championship and second Region XIX Title in a row. Kaili Fitzpatrick became the program's first Region XIX Player of the Year, while fellow freshmen Olivia Sims and Izabela Bar were recognized as First and Second Team All-Region selections, respectively.

Raritan Valley Community College is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association Region XIX and the Garden State Athletic Conference. RVCC has been represented at the state and national levels in many sports, enabling students to compete for athletic scholarships at four-year colleges and universities. RVCC currently offers eight athletic programs that participate in NJCAA DII or NJCAA DIII levels.

Scholarship NJCAA DII programs include Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball, Baseball, and Softball. Non-scholarship NJCAA DIII programs include Men’s & Women’s Soccer, Golf, and Women's Volleyball.

For additional information about RVCC Athletics, visit www.rvccathletics.com.

RVCC is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 17, 2021

Media contact: Donna Stolzer, 908-526-1200, ext. 8383

PR #43