Tops Sweep Lakeland, 3-0
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Oct. 10 -- An all-freshman Triceratops (TOPS) volleyball team claimed its first straight-set victory of the season on Saturday. Downing OCCAC rival Lakeland community College 25-23, 25-18, and 25-21. Tri-C swept the season series against Lakeland 2-0, and improved its Ohio Community College Athletic Conference mark to 4-4 with the triumph.
It's been a remarkable season so far for the Tops volleyballers, considering that the college went without a program in the 2020 and 2021 fall seasons. This means that new Coach Tionne El-Amin has had to instill and build comradery, culture and teamwork with a bunch of newcomers.
Tri-C jumped out to a 20-12 lead in the first set of the match, only to see the Lakers claw their way back. The contest was tied 23-all at one point, but the Tops rallied to break Lakeland's serve, and then Captain Olivia Meaney delivered a game-winning service.
Defensive specialist (libero) Mallory Rice also scored five of the TOPs' points on serves, and Jynx Bretz added several kills in the first set.
"We just need to stay on attack and protect the net," coach El-Amin said in a brief interview between sets with MJS 2070 student journalist Patrick Ellington. "We want to also dominate on offense."
That's just what Tri-C did in the second set. Trailing early, the Tops got a another kill by Bretz after a long rally to tie the set at 4-4. There was no turning back from there, as they gained an ever-growing advantage in the contest. They led by as much as 8 points before breaking Lakeland's serve at 24-18 for the second match point of the day.
The third set was another back-and-forth affair, but the Tops prevailed again with superior offensive firepower. Rice scored five times on serves, including two consecutive services at the end to win the set and the match following the Lakeland coach's attempt to "ice" her with a timeout.
"We have an awesome young coach (in El-Amin) and the girls have really responded well to her," said Cuyahoga Community College Executive Director of Athletics Anthony Cipollone after the match. "Tionne played here, so she knows what struggles student athletes at Tri-C can face. She's a great role model, and this team is playing really hard. I think it's still just scratched the surface on what it can do."
"We also want to defend our house," Coach El-Amin stated. So far Tri-C has played 10 of its first 13 matches on the road, and the schedule gets much friendly going forward.
Except for a visit to Terra State (today, on October 10) and to nationally-ranked Owens Community College on October 21, the balance of the season happens in Highland Heights for the volleyballers, beginning with Owens State on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and Clark State on Friday, also at 6 p.m. Edison State visits the Tops for a 9 a.m. game on Saturday.
Tri-C MJS 2070 student Aria Ruiz contributed to this story'