LA PLATA, Md. — The College of Southern Maryland volleyball team defeated Harford Community College 3-1 Tuesday afternoon at the CSM Gymnasium, improving to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference. Harford fell to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play. The match, held Sept. 16, 2025, at 2 p.m., drew a modest crowd of local fans to the La Plata campus, where the Hawks capitalized on home-court energy to secure their fourth straight conference victory.
Southern Maryland took control early with a 25-10 win in the first set, setting a dominant tone against the Fighting Owls. Harford responded in the second, evening the match at 1-1 with a 27-25 victory that featured several extended rallies. The Hawks then pulled away in the third set, 25-15, and closed out the win in the fourth, 25-21, thanks to timely blocks and efficient serving. The victory marks CSM’s strongest start to conference play since 2021, when the team finished 5-1 in the Maryland JUCO circuit before advancing to the NJCAA Region 20 tournament.
Lelia Iafeta led the Hawks with a match-high 17 points, including 10 kills on 15 attempts for a .667 hitting percentage, two blocks and nine digs. Her performance anchored Southern Maryland’s front line, where the team combined for 14 blocks overall. Deanna Kalkbrenner added 10.5 points with six kills and a solo block, while setter Amelie Lancioni contributed three points through assists and digs. Donshae Walls tallied four points with strong serving, including three aces, and Taylor Hollinger chipped in five points despite a challenging .038 hitting clip on 26 swings. The Hawks’ serving game proved decisive, with 15 aces to Harford’s 10, forcing 33 reception errors from the visitors.
Harford relied on balanced scoring but struggled with a .006 team hitting percentage on 64 attempts. Chiara Mignini-Baez paced the Fighting Owls with 5.5 points, including three kills and two blocks. Nayelis Kulian Mendez led in kills with four but hit -.048 on 21 attempts, while Neriya Kindred added 11 points with six kills at .094. Bryanna Carter contributed 15.5 points with 14 kills and a block, but the team managed just six blocks total. Setter Karen Jimenez dished out 22 assists but also committed six errors, contributing to Harford’s 33 attack errors. The Fighting Owls’ defense tallied 58 digs, with Mignini-Baez and Kulian Mendez each recording seven, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Hawks’ momentum.
This matchup highlighted the competitive depth in the Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference, where both teams vie for Region 20 playoff spots. Southern Maryland, an NJCAA Division II program, has built on an early-season upset over No. 14 Raritan Valley on Aug. 31, 2025, a 3-1 win that marked their first victory against a ranked opponent since 2017. That result boosted the Hawks’ confidence heading into conference play, which opened with a sweep of Baltimore City Community College on Sept. 3. Harford, meanwhile, entered the game off a mixed non-conference slate, including a recent loss that dropped them below .500 in region matches.
Looking ahead, Southern Maryland faces Anne Arundel Community College at home on Sept. 19, 2025, at 6 p.m., a key matchup to extend their unbeaten conference streak. Harford travels to Howard Community College on Sept. 18 for another region test. Both teams are part of the broader NJCAA Region 20 landscape, which includes six Maryland schools competing for two tournament berths. CSM’s recent success—four straight .500-or-better seasons—positions them well for a potential nationals push, their first since ranking 19th nationally in 2010.
The match stats underscore the Hawks’ growth in key areas: their .067 team hitting edged Harford’s near-miss at .006, and superior blocking (14-6) swung close sets. Iafeta’s standout play echoes CSM’s history of versatile leaders, while Harford’s resilience in set two shows why the conference remains tight. As Region 20 play intensifies through October, including a tri-match on Oct. 1 featuring CSM, Harford and Cecil College, these early results could shape playoff seeding.
