Lady Commodores upsets #1 Kirkwood CC in Quarterfinal match

The 8^th seeded Lady Commodores stunned top-seeded Kirkwood Community College in straight sets, winning 25-23, 25-21, 25-18. The victory sends Gulf Coast St. to the semifinals tomorrow at 4pm. They will take on 4^th seeded Kansas City Kansas, the team that eliminated the Lady Commodores from last year's NJCAA DII Volleyball Championship. During their match vs. KCKCC last season, Gulf Coast St. pushed the Blue Devils to five sets, falling 19-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 11-15.  Earlier this season the Lady Commodores faced off with KCKCC in the Opening Weekend Tournament in Rockford, IL. The Lady Commodores fell to the Lady Blue Devils 25-20, 13-25, 23-25, 17-25.  

Freshman Isabella Lopez led the offense with 15 kills and a .394 hitting percentage. Danna Aguilera added 9 kills and 17 digs, while Taylor Hill posted 8 kills and hit .467. Kya Colston contributed 7 kills, and Skylar Johnston delivered 5 service aces. Keira Mathis anchored the defense with 16 digs.

Sophomore setter Melany Salazar had an outstanding match, surpassing 1,500 career assists and bringing her total to 1,510. She now ranks fourth all-time in Gulf Coast State Volleyball career assists. Salazar also recorded a season-high 6 service aces, adding to an already impressive evening.

Watch tomorrow's match at 4pm on https://www.njcaa.org/network/landing/index

Match stats: https://njcaastats.prestosports.com/sports/wvball/2025-26/div2/boxscores/20251120_js7i.xml