(Nassau County, Long Island, NY) FIT's women's volleyball team will once again head to Minnesota for the NJCAA National Championship after repeating last year's Region XV Championship title. FIT started playoffs as the 2^nd seeded team, right behind the undefeated Suffolk Community College. After winning against 7^th seed Westchester County Community College the Tigers headed to Nassau County for Saturday's showdown with Hostos. The gym was absolutely electric with both quarterfinal games going point for point, set for set. Although FIT was the more seasoned team, Hostos was not about to let the Tigers have an easy road to the finals. The Caimans caught FIT off guard taking them to five sets (23-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-19 and 15-7). Queensborrough CC also fought hard to take the win from 1^st seeded Suffolk but, eventually, was defeated in the fifth set. The Tigers ultimately pulled out a win and confirmed their bid for the Region XV Title. Freshman outside hitter Jenna Dickey lead the offense with 15 kills and 2 aces, while fellow freshman right side hitter Julia Corbett added another 9 kills helping FIT fight to the finish. Sophomore setter Michelle Vainblat racked up 26 set assists and 6 kills of her own while sophomore outside hitter Nathalie Albersmeyer held down the Tigers defense with 22 digs. Dickey assisted Nathalie's efforts on defense adding 4 blocks along with freshman middle Steph Perpepaj's 5 blocks.

The second game started as FIT and Suffolk both took their rightful places in the finals for the Region XV Title. After having lost to Suffolk in three sets during regular season, FIT had to once again prove themselves while Suffolk was still attempting to revenge last year's team, who lost to the Tigers in the same Regional XV championship. The match started point by point, each team with identical intensity siding out consistently after the serve but FIT proved to be the stronger servers, winning the first and second sets 25-22 and 25-23, respectively. FIT was on course to win the game in the sets when an injured ankle derailed momentum and shook up spirits allowing Suffolk to steal the third and fourth sets, 17-25 and 18-25. The Tigers rallied for the fifth set winning 15 to 10 for the Region XV title over Suffolk for the second year in a row. Jenna Dickey solidified her title as Region XV Player of the Year, posting a personal best of 34 kills and 6 blocks and helping setter Michelle Vainblat earn her own personal best with 46 set assists. FIT was also helped by Albersmeyer, who added 10 kills and 17 digs while freshman middle blocker Darina Relyea played though the pain of a sprained ankle adding 4 kills and 2 blocks. The Tigers season may have started slow and rocky but steadily built momentum and continuous improvement earned them a flight back to Minnesota for the NJCAA National Championship. Congratulations to our Rochester bound Tigers. We couldn't be more proud!