2023-24 SMCC Women's Volleyball News
SMCC Women's Volleyball Splits with Pima CC, Yavapai College
October 30, 2023
The South Mountain Community College women's volleyball team (13-15, 8-8 ACCAC) lost 3-2 to Pima CC on Oct. 25 and defeated Yavapai College 3-0 on Oct. 27 in a pair of ACCAC contests. The Cougars fell in five sets to the Aztecs on Sophomore Day despite 14 kills from sophomore Rylee Pitts and 11 kills from freshman Rylea Simonich. Two days laters, SMCC wrapped up their 2023 campaign with a 3-0 sweep of the Roughriders.
Rylea Simonich Earns Second Team All-ACCAC & All-Region I Division II Honors
October 30, 2023
Freshman middle blocker Rylea Simonich of the SMCC women's volleyball team earned Second Team All-ACCAC and All-Region I Division II honors after a sensational 2023 season. Originally from Phoenix, Simonich led all conference players with 66 solo blocks and added 212 kills, 22 service aces, and 71 digs for the season.
SMCC Women's Volleyball Sweeps Phoenix College, Mesa CC
October 23, 2023
The South Mountain Community College women's volleyball team (12-14, 7-7 ACCAC) swept Phoenix College 3-0 on Oct. 18 and swept Mesa CC 3-0 on Oct. 20 in a pair of ACCAC matches last week. Sophomore Lexi Wasil led SMCC with 11 kills in the win over the Bears, while sophomore Rylee Pitts posted a team-high 13 kills as the Cougars swept the Thunderbirds.
SMCC Posts Five-Set Win over Glendale CC, Falls to Chandler-Gilbert CC
October 16, 2023
The South Mountain Community College women's volleyball team (10-14, 5-7 ACCAC) defeated Glendale CC 3-2 in a thrilling ACCAC contest on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at the SMCC Gym. SMCC fell 3-1 at Chandler-Gilbert CC in a conference contest two days later. Sophomores Rylee Pitts and Lexi Wasil led the Cougars with 14 kills in the victory over the Gauchos, while Pitts had 15 kills and freshman Rylea Simonich added 11 in the loss to the Coyotes.
Cougar Women's Volleyball Splits with Central Arizona, Scottsdale CC
October 09, 2023
The South Mountain Community College women's volleyball team (9-13, 4-6 ACCAC) split its two ACCAC contests last week, falling 3-0 at Scottsdale CC on Oct. 6 before sweeping Central Arizona 3-0 at home on Oct. 8. Against the Artichokes, sophomore Lexi Wasil led the Cougars with eight kills and three other Cougars added five. Two days later, sophomore Rylee Pitts led SMCC with 12 kills as the Cougars swept the Vaqueras.
SMCC Women's Volleyball Splits with Ottawa University (JV) and Pima CC
October 02, 2023
The South Mountain Community College women's volleyball team (8-12, 3-5 ACCAC) split its two matches last week, defeating Ottawa University (JV) 3-0 on Sept. 26 before falling 3-1 to Pima CC in an ACCAC contest in Tucson on Sept. 27. Freshman Rylea Simonich led SMCC with 10 kills against both the Spirit and the Aztecs.
SMCC Women's Volleyball Outlasts Mesa CC
September 25, 2023
The Cougars defeated Mesa CC 3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 25-22, 15-25, 15-13) in a thrilling ACCAC road contest on Friday, Sept. 22. SMCC and Mesa CC exchanged sets through the first four frames before the Cougars posted 15-13 victory in set five to earn the crucial conference victory. The next day, SMCC fell 3-1 in a non-conference match at Chandler-Gilbert CC.
SMCC Women's Volleyball Downs Phoenix College
September 21, 2023
The South Mountain Community College women's volleyball team (6-10, 2-4 ACCAC) defeated Phoenix College 3-1 in an ACCAC match at the SMCC Gym on Sept. 20. Sophomore Rylee Pitts led SMCC with 17 kills and five other Cougars added at least five in the victory over the Bears: 25-12, 25-19, 24-26, 25-13.
SMCC Women's Volleyball Edged by Eastern Arizona
September 20, 2023
The South Mountain Community College women's volleyball team (5-10) lost 3-2 to Eastern Arizona in a non-conference match on Sept. 18 in Thatcher, Ariz. The Cougars battled back from an 0-2 deficit by winning sets three and four, but the Gila Monsters held on in the fifth set to post the home victory: 25-23, 25-20, 25-27, 25-27, 15-11.
SMCC Women's Volleyball Stuns No. 12 Chandler-Gilbert CC
September 18, 2023
The South Mountain Community College women's volleyball team (5-9, 1-4 ACCAC) defeated No. 12 Chandler-Gilbert CC 3-2 in a thrilling, five-set ACCAC victory on Friday, Sept. 15 at the SMCC Gym. Trailing 2-0 to the nationally ranked Coyotes, the Cougars engineered a reverse sweep and posted an epic comeback in the fifth set to earn the first conference win of the season: 21-25, 18-25, 25-18, 25-22, 19-17.
SMCC Women's Volleyball Falls to Scottsdale CC, Arizona Western
September 11, 2023
The South Mountain Community College women's volleyball team (4-8, 0-3 ACCAC) lost 3-0 to Scottsdale CC on Sept. 6 and 3-0 to Arizona Western on Sept. 8 in a pair of ACCAC home matches at the SMCC Gym. Sophomore Lexi Wasil led SMCC with six kills against the Fighting Artichokes and then posted a team-best 11 kills against the Matadors.
No. 13 Eastern Arizona Edges SMCC Women's Volleyball
August 30, 2023
The South Mountain Community College women's volleyball team (4-6, 0-1 ACCAC) lost 3-2 to No. 13 Eastern Arizona in an ACCAC contest in Thatcher, Ariz. SMCC battled back from an 0-2 deficit to win sets three and four and force a decisive fifth set before ultimately falling: 25-11, 25-17, 22-25, 22-25, 15-10. Sophomore Lexi Wasil led the Cougars with nine kills, freshman Rylea Simonich added eight and freshman Hope Williamson posted 12 assists and 13 digs for her first double-double.
SMCC Women's Volleyball Defeats Central Arizona, Williston State College
August 28, 2023
The South Mountain Community College women's volleyball team (4-5) split home doubleheaders on Aug. 25 and Aug. 26, picking up victories over Central Arizona and Williston State College and falling to Southeastern CC and Mesa CC. Sophomore Rylee Pitts led SMCC with 10 kills in the non-conference win over the Vaqueras and added 10 more in the win over the Tetons.
Cougar Volleyball Upsets No. 6 Grand Rapids CC
August 24, 2023
The South Mountain Community College women's volleyball team (2-3) defeated No. 6 Grand Rapids CC in a non-conference match at the SMCC Gym on Aug. 23. The Cougars and Raiders battled in five competitive sets, with SMCC ultimately prevailing in a thrilling fifth set: 21-25, 25-20, 25-23, 22-25, 20-18.
SMCC Women's Volleyball Defeats Vernon College at NMMI Classic
August 21, 2023
The South Mountain Community College women's volleyball team (1-3) defeated Vernon College 3-1 in the Cougars' fourth game at the NMMI Classic in Roswell, N.M., on Aug. 19 on the New Mexico Military Institute campus. SMCC also faced Tyler JC, Odessa College, and NMMI at the event to start its 2023 campaign.
SMCC Volleyball Announces 2023 Schedule
July 24, 2023
The South Mountain Community College women's volleyball team and head coach Melissa Joseph have unveiled the Cougars' 2023 schedule, a 28-game slate featuring 14 home matches. The Cougars return seven letterwinners from a last year's squad that qualified for the Region I Division II Tournament.