NORTH EAST, MD -- Harford women's volleyball hit the road last night for the first time this season and did not disappoint, defeating Region 20 and Maryland Juco rival Cecil Community College 3-1. All four sets were heated with competitiveness, with the fourth and deciding frame going to a 30-28 score.
Bryanna Carter (Abingdon, Md.) led the way for Harford with 22 kills, followed close behind by
Karen Jimenez (Mexico City, Mexico) who finished with 18.
Nayelis Kulian Mendez (Carolina, Puerto Rico) was a setting machine, finishing with 42 of the Fighting Owls 44 assists for the night.
Clara Pauni (West Jordan, Utay) led Harford with 26 digs, as Jimenez and Carter chipped in 18 and 17, respectively.
"The amount of grit that they showed last night was more that just volleyball skills. It was their character shining through," said Harford head coach
Marissa Kozlowski of her team's performance.
Cecil (2-1) struck first in the opening frame, clawing back from Harford's fast 4–0 burst and gradually tilting the set behind quick-tempo swings, as the Seahawks had just enough daylight to sneak out a 25-23 set.
Jayanna Shannon's (Orlando, Fla.) serve set the tone early in the second, as Harford (3-1) promptly opened on a 3-0 run. Passing stabilized for the Fighting Owls and Mendez steered the attack into rhythm and Jimenez stacked back-to-back service aces midset to widen the gap. When Cecil threatened a mini-run, Carter answered from the left, ultimately closing the door with the set-winning kill for 25–20, leveling the match at one apiece.
"[After losing the first set], I said to the team we look like we are on delay and we cannot play effectively on delay," Kozlowski said. "I told them we needed to be more aggressive on serving and consistent on hitting. Keep things simple and play our game."
The third saw compact rallies, long rallies and momentum changes — four ties and three lead changes. Neriya Kindred (Goodhyear, Ariz) delivered two crucial sideout swings after 20-all and Carter chipped in a cross-court finish that reclaimed the lead. The back row defense was just as important: disciplined positioning turned hard Cecil swings into playable digs, buying the offense extra chances. At 24–23, the Fighting Owls executed cleanly — first pass in, first swing down — and walked off with a 25–23 win and a 2–1 match edge.
If the third set was tight, the fourth was downright epic. Cecil raced ahead 5–1 on a burst of quick sets through the middle, forcing Harford to reset. The Fighting Owls did exactly that.
Mendez dropped a tough service ace to spark the response, then scraped up a dig that led to a Carter transition kill. Jimenez added a winner and moments later teamed with Shannon and Mignini-Baez to stifle Cecil's momentum with a string of disciplined block touches.
The set knotted at 14–14 and again at 21–21, and from there it became a deuce-time classic: sideout volleyball at its purest, with neither team giving an inch. Harford fended off set points with first-ball sideouts; Cecil did the same with clutch swings out of system. Finally, at 29–28, the Harford's front line read the set perfectly — Mignini-Baez and Shannon closed the seam, pressed over and stuffed the final swing for 30–28 and the match.
Harford has now won three straight matches since dropping its season opener to Delaware Tech on Aug. 15.
The Fighting Owls first win of the year came against Lackawanna College last Friday, which they followed up the next day with a win over Union County. Harford swept both matchs.
Next up, Harford heads to Montgomery College this Saturday for a Tri-Match with the Raptors and WVU Potomac State College. Their first match against Montgomery is scheduled for 1 p.m. with Potomac State up immediately after.
"We have to keep bettering the ball and playing as a team," Kozlowski said about her message to the team heading into this weekend.
