Onondaga Community College will play host to some of the top National Junior College Athletic Association volleyball talent in the Northeast this weekend when the 11th annual Cara Bryant Memorial Volleyball Tournament takes place on Friday and Saturday in Allyn Hall. The field of 9 teams includes 3 that can be found in the NJCAA Division III National Poll.
The host Lazers come into the tournament with a record of 15-11, and winners of 9 of their last 10 matches. Sophomore outside hitter
Isabella Winklestine is currently 4th in the nation with 285 kills and 10th in points with 319.5. Libero
Brittney Valentine is 5th nationally in digs per set with 5.88. Setter
Katherine Marte ranks 12th in the nation with 595 assists. The Lazers are seeking their first Cara Bryant title.
Monroe Community College, Northampton Community College, and Genesee Community College will all enter the weekend with impressive resumes. Monroe is unbeaten at 24-0 on the season, and is currently ranked #5 in the country. Defending tournament champion Northampton, currently #10, will enter with a 19-3 mark. Genesee, an honorable mention selection in this week's national poll, comes in at 20-4-2.
Mid-State Athletic Conference rivals SUNY Broome, Cayuga Community College, Finger Lakes Community College, and Jefferson Community College are also part of this weeekend's pool. Broome sports a record of 14-9, Cayuga is 10-14, Finger Lakes comes in 15-9, and Jefferson enters at 15-7. Longtime NJCAA member SUNY Delhi, now transitioning to four-year athletics and a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association, rounds out the field and currently holds a record of 11-9.
Play begins at 3:00 pm on Friday, when the Lazers face Jefferson and Cayuga squares off against Finger Lakes. Each of the 9 teams will play four round robin matches, two on Friday and two on Saturday, before the top 8 teams are bracketed into the quarter-finals. Play will resume at 9 am on Saturday morning, and will culminate with the tournament championship match at approximately 6:00 pm. The full schedule can be found at the end of this article.
This weekend's tournament is held in memory of Cara Bryant. Cara attended Onondaga Community College and played on the volleyball team from 1994-95. She was named Mid-State All Conference in both seasons, All Region III in 1995, and she was a member of the Onondaga team that played in the 1994 NJCAA National Tournament. Cara is the daughter of Hy and Mary Bryant, both long-time instructors at Onondaga, and the mother of Kayla Bryant. Hy was the long-time Volleyball Coach at Onondaga and was the first inductee into the Onondaga Community College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Cara's life was tragically taken in August of 2002. In honor of the spirit and purpose that her life represented, Onondaga Community College has established a scholarship fund in her memory. Each year, a portion of the entry fees from this tournament are donated to the fund. In addition, anyone can make a gift to the fund by contacting the Onondaga Community College Foundation at (315) 498-6060. On behalf of the Bryant family and Onondaga, we would like to thank all of the people who made the scholarship a reality and the teams who are participating in the tournament this weekend with the same spirit, determination and sportsmanship that made Cara a special person and ensures that she will always be an integral part of the Onondaga family.
Tournament Schedule
Friday, October 9
3:00 Onondaga vs Jefferson & Cayuga vs Finger Lakes
4:15 Broome vs Delhi & Genesee vs Monroe
5:30 Onondaga vs Northampton & Finger Lakes vs Monroe
6:30 Cayuga vs Broome & Jefferson vs Genesee
7:30 Northampton vs Delhi
Saturday, October 10
9:00 Onondaga vs Genesee
10:15 Northampton vs Finger Lakes & Cayuga vs Monroe
11:30 Jefferson vs Delhi & Genesee vs Broome
12:30 Onondaga vs Delhi & Northampton vs Monroe
1:30 Finger Lakes vs Broome & Cayuga vs Jefferson
2:30 1st seed vs 8th seed & 4th seed vs 5th seed
3:30 2nd seed vs 7th seed & 3rd seed vs 6th seed
4:45 2:30 winners & 3:30 winners
6:00 4:45 winners
