Campus News

September 15th, 2026

Lady Lakers keep improving during tri-match

GC rallies to top Riverhawks in 5 sets after 4-set loss to Hagerstown

McHenry, MD – The Lady Lakers’ women’s volleyball team is improving with every match they play.

Garrett College was swept by WVU-Potomac State in last Wednesday’s opener before forcing visiting Hagerstown Community College to four sets in the first match of a Saturday tri-match. The Lady Lakers then rallied to pull out a dramatic, five-set win over Anne Arundel Community College in Saturday’s final match.

“That’s the goal, and I think that’s what they’ve done,” said GC’s first-year head coach, Beth Campbell, of her team’s match-by-match improvement. “I think we’ve especially improved in areas we’ve specifically worked on – for example, our serve-receive is getting better.”

Campbell believes team confidence will now improve, thanks to Saturday’s success.

“I think this was really important for them,” Campbell said after GC’s 25-21, 23-25, 23-25, 25-22, and 15-10 win over AACC. “Getting that first set win against Hagerstown really loosened us up, and I think we’ll play even more confidently after getting that first match win against Anne Arundel.”

Freshman outside hitter Kyla Gilbert had a match-high 23 kills to go along with 11 digs and three services aces in the win over AACC. Gilbert had four kills in the decisive fifth set.

“She’s doing a phenomenal job in a position that she hadn’t played a lot before coming here,” said Campbell of Gilbert. “I expect her to keep getting better and better every match.”

Freshman setter Teyla Holloway-Powers impressively ran the offense against the Riverhawks, finishing with a match-high 45 assists while tying for match-high honors with 19 digs. She also threw down four aces.

“She saved a lot of really difficult passes and still put the ball in a spot for our hitters to get a good shot at it,” said Campbell, noting Holloway-Powers was GC’s lone setter. “Nine sets, one setter – and she was as energetic in the ninth set as she was in the first.”

Sophomore outside hitter Mia Barrios – who finished with 17 kills and 15 digs – had four fifth-set kills, including the go-ahead point that broke a 7-7 tie and sparked a 7-0 GC scoring run. After Anne Arundel pulled within 14-10, she delivered the match-winning hit for the Lady Lakers.

“Mia was very consistent in the fifth set – she had a great hitting percentage,” observed Campbell.

Campbell also noted freshman hitter Kaitlyn Bender’s fifth-set contributions. With the Lady Lakers leading 8-7 after Barrios’ tie-breaking kill, Bender served six straight points to get Garrett to match point.

“Kaitlyn’s serving gave us an opportunity to push the score up fast,” said Campbell.

Isabella Keneally contributed 18 digs while Olivia Bartlett contributed five kills and the team’s only three blocked shots.

Nala Duncan (team-high 12 kills, 18 digs), Danielle Birner (match-high 24 digs), and Noemi Salvadori (39 assists, 19 digs) were standouts for the Riverhawks, who also received six aces each from Cassidy Joseph and Renee Lakner.

Gilbert (11 kills, 16 digs), Barrios (10 kills, 11 digs), and Holloway-Powers (29 assists, 10 digs) helped keep GC competitive in the 25-13, 24-26, 25-16, and 25-10 loss to Hagerstown. Gilbert (eight kills, 11 digs) and Holloway-Powers (16 assists, 11 digs) were standouts in the 25-20, 25-15, and 25-14 loss to Potomac State.

GC is off until Saturday when the Lady Lakers take on Montgomery College at 2 p.m. and host Cecil College at 4 p.m. in another tri-match.