Harford Wins Region 20 DII Volleyball Championship
HAGERSTOWN, MD. – The top seeded Harford Community College volleyball team claimed its first NJCAA Region 20 Division II championship Sunday afternoon, besting second seed College of Southern Maryland, 3-2. Tournament Most Valuable Player Laura Piva recorded a match-high 22 kills to lead the Fighting Owls, who won by scores of 21-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23, and 15-13.
Harford (25-4) snapped the Hawks' 12-game win streak while extending their winning streak in the series to six games dating back to the 2018 season.CSM (23-3) won the first set by a four-point margin, before the two teams took it to the limit in the second, third, and fourth sets, with teams trading high-scoring wins before Harford edged CSM by two in the final set – a similar fate as the two teams' regular-season matchup in La Plata, Md.
Harford's Morgan Barnett led all players with 46 assists, while also adding four service aces and 17 digs. Julia Hudson paced the Owls with 33 digs. Harford's net game was on point with 19 combined blocks, led by five block assists from Elizabeth Fapohunda and four from Kaja Szuba.
Maria Peña (19 kills) and Ellyssa Fultz (12 kills) led the CSM offense. Peña added a team-high four service aces and led the team with 32 digs. Lillian Reynolds had 43 assists and 29 digs; Katrina Swanson added 21 digs.
Harford advances to the NJCAA Division II Mid-Atlantic championship, hosted by Lackawanna College at 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 4.