Campus News
September 16th, 2025
GC takes down Cecil as part of tri-match
Lady Lakers notch 4-set win after loss to Montgomery College
Lady Laker Emma McCord serves Saturday against Cecil College. Garrett College's women's volleyball team beat the Hawks in four sets while splitting a tri-match that included Montgomery College.
Brittany Jackson's whiteboard message was pretty clear:
"No five-setters, plz!"
Jackson's Lady Lakers complied with their coach's request during Saturday's women's volleyball match against visiting Cecil College. Locked in a 17-17 tie and facing a potential fifth set, Garrett College put together an 8-3 run to clinch a 25-16, 25-20, 22-25, and 25-20 win.
"We're trying not to be the five-set team this year," said Jackson whose 2024 squad forged a 5-1 record in five-setters on the way to a 12-9 season.
The Cecil win, combined with a four-set loss to Montgomery College in Saturday's tri-match, left the Lady Lakers with 3-2 overall and Region 20 records. Montgomery (8-4, 4-0) is tied with the College of Southern Maryland (6-6, 4-0) for first place in the NJCAA Division II Region 20 standings.
GC played well overall in the Cecil victory, with contributions from many sources.
Paola Chirino finished with a team-high 26 digs and Karen Cuellar registered 21 assists while Chloe Heeter (17 assists, three aces, two block assists) and Cierra Shoop (12 kills, four aces, two block assists) did a little bit of everything. Garrett's front line produced a balanced offense as Mia Barrios finished with 10 kills with Emma McCord and Brenna L'Hommedieu contributing eight kills each.
GC raced out to 11-2 and 11-3 leads in the first and second sets, respectively, while taking a 2-0 lead against Cecil. The Hawks bounced back in the third set, using an 11-3 run to erase a 3-2 deficit and take control.
The Hawks had a shot to even the match, tying the fourth set at 17-17 on a DeeDee Williams kill. Garrett, however, responded with its 8-3, match-ending run. Cuellar started the run with consecutive tipped shots off Hawk defenders and McCord finished a 5-0 surge with an outside kill that gave Garrett a 22-17 cushion.
While Garrett claimed just one set against Montgomery College, Jackson thought the 25-14, 25-14, 21-25, and 25-14 loss to the Raptors didn't completely reflect her team's effort.
"We had really good rallies with them," Jackson said of the Raptors match. "We just didn't execute as well as needed to win the points."
Barrios (nine kills), Shoop (seven kills), and McCord (five kills) led the offensive effort against Montgomery. Cuellar had 15 assists, Heeter had nine assists and eight digs, and Chirino finished with 13 digs in the Raptors match.
Jackson noted Chirino's defensive effort in both matches.
"She really protected that deep corner for us," said Jackson.
GC 3, Westmoreland CCC 0
Youngwood, PA – Emma McCord had a team-high seven kills and added two assists last Tuesday as the Lady Lakers swept their hosts.
Chloe Heeter (team-high three aces) and Karen Cuellar had 10 and eight assists, respectively, for GC in its 25-14, 25-15, and 25-15 win.
