LCC sophomore volleyball players Chelsea O’Connor and Ashley Zufelt have committed to furthering their collegiate volleyball careers at east coast schools.

O’Connor, from Calhan High School in Calhan, Colorado has committed to move on to the University of Maine, a NCAA Division I program that competes in the America East Conference and is located in Bangor, Maine.

O’Connor led the Runnin’ Lopes in kills, kills per game, attack percentage and blocks for the season.

“We expect Chelsea to come in and compete for a starting position as a middle blocker,” commented Assistant Coach Mark Jones.

O’Connor’s hard work was evident in the classroom as well. She earned a spot on the NJCAA Region IX All-Academic team last spring as a freshman and will certainly will be selected again this year, as well as earning a spot on the NJCAA Academic All-American Team.

Zufelt, from Bloomfield High School in Farmington, New Mexico has committed to playing at Mercy College, a NCAA Division II program that competes in the East Coast Conference, located in Dobbs Ferry, NY, outside of New York City.

“Ashley will be an asset to the program at Mercy,” said LCC volleyball head coach Mike Stephens. “She’s an on court leader who is very vocal and will also provide a big block from the right side hitter position. I look forward to her competing against some of my former coaching colleagues back east. I will be watching her statistics closely for sure.”

Zufelt also had success in the classroom earning a perfect 4.0 GPA over her two years at LCC.

She was selected to the NJCAA Region IX ALL-Academic team last spring as a freshman.

Zufelt will also be selected to the NJCAA Distinguished Academic All-American team due to her 4.0 cumulative GPA.

“Both of these ladies were leaders in the classroom and helped us to earn a team GPA of 3.61 last fall,” added Coach Stephen. “They will both be missed for their contributions on and off the court.”