Women’s Volleyball Triumphant in Regional Semifinal

Lady Cougars Come Close to a New England Championship

(Holyoke, MA) - Women's volleyball won their regional semifinal on Saturday afternoon, defeating CC of Rhode Island 3-2 to advance to the New England championship game. The Lady Cougars took a 2-0 lead in the semi before their opposition fought back to force a fifth and final set. Holyoke won the final set 17-15 to earn the right to play in the final. The Cougars put forth a valiant effort in the championship, falling 3-1 to Bunker Hill CC.

Gissel Santos (Santo Domingo, DR / Holyoke HS) led the way for the Cougars with a dominant performance. Santos led Holyoke with 15 kills, 30 digs and ten aces in the semifinal. She was the leader in kills in the final with 14. Alianiz Bonilla (Springfield, MA / Commerce HS) had 16 kills and 29 digs combined in the two matchups. Isabelle Garutti (Springfield, MA / Sabis International Charter) had 27 digs over the two games and Khimorah Arias (Springfield, MA / Commerce HS) had 20.

Women's volleyball finishes the season with a 14-8 overall record and a 12-5 regional record. They had a 13-5 record in NJCAA play. Their runner-up finish in the New England tournament is their best finish in the past decade. Let's go Cougars!

Photo: The team poses with their runner-up plaque after the championship game.