Albany, NY - The Panthers hosted their last home games of the season this weekend, honoring the team's lone senior Kirsten Buenviaje.  Coaches and teammates gifted Buenviaje a signed volleyball and flowers to thank her for all she's done for the team in her two seasons as a member.  Head coach Glenn Warnock said the following about her, "Kirsten came to ACPHS volleyball with little experience but a big heart. She's made big contributions on and off the court and we will miss her. We will be happy to have her in our alumni roster going forward and wish her nothing but the best."  

Buenviaje's senior night came on Sunday afternoon, a day after the Panthers defeated the Great Bay Herons on Saturday.  The two teams played on a neutral court in Pottersville, NY, the home of the Word of Life Huskies. The Panthers dominated the game, sweeping the Herons 3-0 to also sweep the season series. 

The next day, the Panthers hosted a pod match that saw 4 games played between 6 total teams.  The Panthers themselves played in the first two games, first against CMCC followed by SMCC.  The Panthers had a rocky start, losing the first match 25-13. Then things started clicking for them as they barely lost the second match 25-22 behind 9 assists from Kathryn Braun and 30 digs from Libero Angelina Tamburro.  The Panthers then fell short in the third set 25-11, despite a team high 5 kills from Morgan Bohlke.  

In the second of their back-to-back games, they took on the SMCC Seawolves.  Bohlke again led the way with 7 kills, but a hand injury to Morgan Richards hurt the team as they lost the first two sets 25-14 and 25-9. However, the Panthers did not give up and played hard behind another 10 assists from Braun and 33 digs from Ella Tangorra.  The Panthers took the third set 25-16 to avoid the sweep, but lost the final set 25-15 to fall to 3-7 on the season.  In her last home game, Buenviaje recorded an ace for the Panthers.

The Panthers only have two games left; both of which will be played on Saturday 10/5 against NHTI and Paul Smith's. 

How to follow the Panthers: For the latest information on ACPHS athletics, visit acphspanthers.com or check out the ACPHS athletics social media platforms on Instgram @ACPHSPanthers or X @ACPHSAthletics. 

Written by Angelo Oddo.