2001 CUNYAC Community College Volleyball Championship

BMCC Beats the Field for Six in a Row

Brooklyn, NY – It was a victorious day for Borough of Manhattan Community College, as the women's volleyball team overwhelmed the competition to win the school's sixth consecutive CUNY Athletic Conference / State Farm Women's Volleyball Tournament, held at Kingsborough CC.

Despite suffering through the most difficult season in school history, the college closest to the World Trade Center won the four-team tourney with relative ease. On September 11th, the 17,000 students school was taken over by city officials and used as a command and control center, because the campus is three blocks away from the disaster area. The College opened three weeks later, but the gym remained closed until mid-October, forcing the team to fend for themselves.

"I said to my players all along, it's not how you start the season, it's how you finish," said Olga Lorenzo, BMCC head coach. "After all we've been through this year, playing all of our games on the road and practicing at LIU, this might be the sweetest win of the last six."

The Panthers (16-3) went undefeated during pool play, winning all three matches in straight sets. BMCC topped Bronx in the final 30-16, 30-13, 30-25, while playing with confidence, and keeping a troublesome Bronco squad down every time a rally was brewing. BMCC started out the day with a win over Bronx, followed by easier wins over Fashion Institute of Technology and the host school.

"All the games today were hard," said BMCC's Tekela Robinson, who was awarded her second Tournament Most Valuable Player honor. "We communicate well on the court and we know how to play as a team. It feels great to be MVP again after taking the year off last year, " continued the native of Trinidad who led the squad with 18 kills in the final.

Other top performers for the Panthers were sophomore hitters Abiola Wilson and Renee Bowen, who are both from Trinidad as well. Two sophomore outside hitters from Bronx were also named to the All-Tournament team, Lakesha Joseph (Mount Vernon, NY) and Cruz Geronimo (Bronx, NY), along with Ellis Dixon from Fashion.

The tournament was postponed from September 21 at BMCC, when Kingsborough offered to hold the event on an off-day (October 21) before the upcoming Region XV Championship.

Championship Match

Pool Play Results

All-Tournament Team

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