BRONXVILLE, N.Y. - The Sarah Lawrence women's volleyball team capped off a terrific 17-win season with a Skyline Tournament Semifinal appearance, earning two major Skyline awards, a pair of all-conference nods and a slew of program-bests.

Awards and Achievements

The Gryphons saw head coach John Carroll receive the program's first-ever Skyline Coach of the Year Award, while Nikolet Vataj became the second Gryphon to earn Rookie of the Year. Athena Kazos joined Vataj as an all-conference performer, with Kazos earning all-conference first team recognition as Vataj added a second-team appearance to her Rookie of the Year status. Kazos earned player of the week twice, Vataj took home rookie of the week twice and Kaille Ferguson earned libero of the week twice as well. Madelyn Heavens earned the team's Skyline All-Sportsmanship Team selection and 13 Gryphons were named to the Skyline's Academic Honor Roll. At the year-end SLC Athletic Banquet, Vataj was recognized as the department's Newcomer of the Year for women's sports, while Massey was endowed with the Coach's Award and Ferguson took home the Team MVP Award.

Season By the Numbers

SLC's 17 total wins set a program record this season, with their seven conference victories tying the program-best mark set last year. The team ranked top-25 nationally in three categories, finishing third in the country in aces per set, 11th in total aces and 24th in opponent hitting percentage. Three SLC performers ranked nationally as individuals, as Kazos led the charge with a 19th-place standing in points per set in addition to ranking 28th-place in aces per set and 35th in kills per set. Vataj finished top-100 in points, aces and kills per set while Ferguson ranked top-100 in digs per set.

The team's five-set victory over Farmingdale State in November not only gave the team their first win over the Rams and their first Skyline Conference Tournament victory, but it propelled a handful of Gryphons into the team's record book. Kazos and Vataj earned 26 and 22 kills, respectively, the second- and fourth-most single-match kills in program history. Kazos's 70 swings were the most by a Gryphon in a single-match and Vataj's 65 ranked fifth. The former totaled 26.5 points as well, the third-most all-time. Georgi Massey stepped up in just her fifth match as the team's setter, racking up 53 assists, the most assists by a Gryphon in a single match. Ferguson's 34 digs were the fifth-most in a match as well, her third appearance in the top five for digs in an individual match. 

Rewriting the Record Book

In addition to the aforementioned records set in the team's playoff triumph over Farmingdale, the Gryphons set new records in a range of categories as a team, with the most kills, assists, blocks and points in a season in program history, along with setting five new single-match kill records throughout 2024. The team also set new single-match bests for attack percentage, blocks, assists and points.

Familiar faces moved up the career leaderboard for the Gryphons, with Kazos moving into second all-time in kills, in line to take pole position with a strong senior campaign. The junior already sits atop the leaderboard in attack attempts, while also ranking top-three in kills per set, points per set, total points, service aces, block assists and total blocks. Massey ended her SLC career ranked fifth in kills, along with the fifth-best attack percentage in program history. Vataj moved into first place in kills per set, points per set and attack percentage after a strong first campaign with the Gryphons. Valerie Hertig played only 64 sets, but her 7.80 assists per set tops the leaderboard and her 499 total assists rank fifth among all Gryphons. After two strong campaigns leading the Gryphons, head coach John Carroll sits fourth all-time with 31 wins, just 15 behind the program's all-time record of 46.

2024 Season Recap

The Gryphons took down 17 of their 27 opponents overall and seven of their 11 Skyline foes in 2024, including a 6-1 start to conference play before a grueling late-season stretch where they played a trio of the conference's top teams. The Gryphons took down a pair of opponents for the first time ever in the regular season, with a 3-1 victory over Elms early in the year before a 3-1 comeback win over St. Joseph (Conn.) in late September. The team also ended the year with a 3-0 victory on Senior Night, honoring Ferguson and Massey for their contributions to the women's volleyball program.

The team finished the year at 7-4 in conference play for the second consecutive season, earning a fifth seed in the Skyline Conference Tournament once again. The team found themselves in a rematch with Farmingdale State, the team that narrowly eliminated the Gryphons from the tournament in a five-set thriller just one year prior. SLC once again traveled to Farmingdale, with another marathon battle awaiting. Deja vu set in as the teams battled throughout the match, alternating set victories before an 8-5 Farmingdale lead foreshadowed an encore to 2024 as the teams switched sides in the deciding set. A huge Jenna Lehnhart and Georgi Massey block responded immediately, and seven kills from Kazos and Vataj through the remainder of the set would allow the Gryphons to take match point. Georgi Massey stepped up for her 53rd assist of the night, finding Kazos for her 26th kill to give SLC their first-ever victory over the Rams and send the team to the semifinals. Just two days later, the team headed up the road for their semifinal matchup with the top-seeded Valiants of Manhattanville. The Gryphons continued their strong play against Manhattanville with a strong showing in the first set, earning a 27-25 victory as kills from Vataj and Kazos sealed the win. The hosting Valiants would go on to regroup and take the match, staying undefeated in conference play and hoisting the championship trophy two days later.

2025 Season Preview

The Gryphons will certainly miss both Ferguson and Massey, who will leave SLC after graduation, but with the reigning Skyline Coach of the Year at the helm and key returners including Kazos, Vataj and Lehnhart, the team is lined up to compete for a Skyline Conference Tournament berth again in 2025.