SANBORN — SUNY Niagara women’s volleyball extended its win streak to three straight matches after a it swept an NJCAA Region III pod Oct. 3 at Genesee Community College in Batavia. The Thunderwolves won in three sets against Cayuga Community College and five sets against Onondaga Community College.
SUNY Niagara defeated Cayuga, 25-3, 25-7, 25-11, and won against Onondaga, 25-23, 17-25, 17-25, 25-19, 15-13. SUNY Niagara is now 10-6 (2-2 WNYAC) and has recorded its first 10-win season since 2014 (19-11).
The victory against Onondaga marked SUNY Niagara’s first five-set win since a 3-2 finish against Monroe Community College on Sept. 7, 2023. This was also the second overall win for the Thunderwolves against the Lazers in 11 meetings — and the second in the last three outings — since Lindsay Matikosh took over the program in 2015.
The Thunderwolves are now 8-17 in five-set matches under Matikosh. The first five-set win was against North Country Community College in a NJCAA Region III pod on Sept. 19, 2015 at SUNY Adirondack.
Against Onondaga, Belle Christopher (North Tonawanda) tied her career-high of 16 kills for the second time in three matches (Roberts Wesleyan JV on Sept 30) and has reached double digits seven times this season. Along with four total double-doubles, Christopher has recorded a team-high 152 kills (9.5 per match, 2.7 per set), third with 106 digs (6.6 per match, 1.9 per set) and is seventh in kills among all NJCAA Region III players.
With 46 assists against Onondaga, Wheatfield resident Kailey Ciesieski (Depew High School) broke her previous single-match high of 42 against Jamestown on Sept. 19 and has posted double digits in all 16 matches. Ciesielski has recorded a team-leading 402 assists (25.1 per match, 7.31 per set), good for fourth in NJCAA Region III.
Mya Wills (Niagara Wheatfield) recorded 14 digs in the win over Lazers, her sixth double-digit game this season, including a career-high 23 against Roberts Wesleyan JV on Sept. 30. Wills is 14th in NJCAA Region III with her team-leading 163 digs (10.2 per match, 2.91 per set) and is third with 29 aces.
Kylie McOmber (Roy-Hart) tied her career high of five aces against Onondaga, which she previously set against Herkimer on Sept. 12. She leads the Thunderwolves with a team-high 24 blocks — currently in the top 10 in NJCAA Region III — and is third on the team with 99 kills (6.2 per match, 1.8 per set) and fifth with 20 aces.
In SUNY Niagara’s win versus Cayuga, sophomore Jordan Smith (Akron) recorded a season-high five digs. The Royalton resident had at least five digs in three matches last season,
including a career-high 12 in a five-set loss to Genesee Community College on Oct. 11, 2025.
SUNY Niagara is idle until its WNYAC match at Jamestown Community College at 6 p.m. Oct. 15. This is followed by the Thunderwolves’ final regular-season regional pod versus SUNY Adirondack and Hudson Valley Community College at 10 a.m. Oct 17 in Warren County and their regular-season home finale at 6 p.m. Oct. 21 in Sanborn.