Amherst College Athletics

Established in 1976 under NCC Hall of Fame inductee Kathy Carbone, women's volleyball at Northampton has had a long, storied history of success.

The 2024 season saw the Spartans finish with an overall record of 16-7, falling in the Region 19  semifinals to Harrisburg.  Kailen Felty was was a First Team All Region selection, while Mackenzie Davis earned Second Team Honors and Lexi Womack was chosen to the Third Team. Felty became the career leader in blocks with 325 and the single season record holder with 222, while Davis set the career (889) and single season (457) records for digs. 

2023 was a magical season for the Spartans as they captured their second consecutive EPAC championship, Region 19 title and NJCAA District championship, en route to the program's 7th trip to the NJCAA National Tournament.  The Spartans went 15-0 during the regular season and earned the #13 seed for the national tournament.  Ayana Bomani earned Region 19 Player of the Year honors and freshman Kailen Felty was named Second Team All-Region.  The Spartans also earned the prestigious NJCAA Sportsmanship Award following the national tournament.  Head Coach Rachael Caywood  was honored as the Region and District Coach of the Year.  Bomani also became just the second Spartan Volleyball player to be named a 2-time NJCAA All-American, earning Second Team Honors. 

The 2022 campaign saw the Spartans recapture their place among the top NJCAA Division III volleyball programs in the country.  The Spartans captured the EPAC title, Region 19 championship and the NJCAA North Atlantic District B championship, advancing to their 6th NJCAA national tournament in program history, finishing 10th.   Jordan Appleton earned EPAC Player of the Year honors, while freshman Ayana Boman earned NJCAA All-American honors and was tabbed as the Region 19 Player of the Year and was named the MVP of the Region 19 tournament.  Head Coach Rachael Caywood brought home a ton of hardware, winning EPAC Coach of the Year, Region 19 Coach of the Year and NJCAA District Coach of the Year honors.  Northampton finished 19-3 overall, going 1-2 at the national tournament as the #9 seed. 

The Spartans returned to the court in 2021 after not playing in 2019 or 2020.  Former standout Rachael Caywood took over as Head Coach, leading Northampton to a 3-10 record. Freshman Jordan Appleton was named First Team All-Conference and Second Team All Region. 

Coaching icon Adrian Yaguez returned to the sidelines in 2018, leading the Spartans to a 15-8 record, their 7th consecutive Region XIX title and 5th NJCAA National Tournament appearance in 7 seasons.  The Spartans defeated Ocean County College to win the Region XIX title and earn the NJCAA District K Championship.  Bridget Crimi was named Region XIX Player of the Year and Abby Orth was named First Team All Region. Yaguez led the program from 2011 thru 2016 and guided the Spartans to a 166-17 record over that period, including six trips to the Region XIX Final Four, five consecutive Region XIX and EPAC championships (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016), three District H championships (2013, 2015, 2016) and three NJCAA National Tournament appearances (2013, 2015, 2016).

Lauren Kerr took the reigns of the program prior to the 2017 season after Yaguez stepped down , and led the team to a 26-6 overall record, their 6th consecutive Region XIX Championship and a berth in the NJCAA National Tournament.  The Spartans downed Sandhills Community College (NC) to capture the District H Championship and advance to their 3rd consecutive NJCAA National Tournament and 4th in 5 seasons.  The Spartans finished 6th at the national tournament, with Katrina Shelly earning All Tournament accolades. 

The 2016 season was one for the ages as the Spartans captured their 5th consecutive Region XIX championship, defeated Patrick Henry CC in the District H championship match and advanced to the NJCAA national tournament for the 3rd time in 4 seasons. Katrina Shelly was named a First Team NJCAA All American, in addition to earning Region XIX and EPAC Player of the Year Honors.  Head Coach Adrian Yaguez became the winningest coach in Northampton volleyball history, passing Hall of Famer Kathy Carbone.  Yaguez earned EPAC, Region XIX and District H Coach of the Year Honors. The Spartans finished 6th at the national tournament, going 1-2, however they captured the NJCAA Sportsmanship Trophy for the second consecutive year. The AVCA honored Yaguez and Shelly at the conclusion of the season, naming Yaguez as a Regional Coach of the Year and naming Shelly a First Team All American. 

The 2015 season started slowly with a 3-3 record after the Northampton Tournament of Champions, but the Spartans caught fire and won their 4th consecutive conference title and Region XIX championship.  Northampton downed Patrick Henry Community College in the District H title game to to advance to their 2nd NJCAA national tournament in three seasons.  The Spartans went 1-2 at the national tournament, finishing 7th and were awarded the NJCAA Sportsmanship Award.  Jax Babezki earned All-American accolades and was named EPAC and Region XIX Player of the Year, while Yaguez was named EPAC and Region XIX Coach of the Year. 

The 2014 team started the season with 30 consecutive victories, before falling to undefeated Monroe Community College in pool play at the Cara Bryant Memorial Tournament in Syracuse, NY.  The Spartans returned the favor later that day, dropping Monroe from the ranks of the unbeaten with a victory in the tournament championship match.  The Spartans also won the BC3 Invitational in late August, as Emily Koehler earned MVP honors.  The 2014 season was full of awards for Koehler, as she earned two tournament MVP trophies, was named EPAC Player of the Year, Region XIX Player of the Year, Region XIX Tournament MVP and a NJCAA All-American.  The Spartans won their 3rd consecutive EPAC title and 3rd consecutive Region XIX title, before falling to Davidson County Community College, 3-1, in the District H Championship, finishing the season with a record of 37-2.

The 2013 squad finished 35-1 and were ranked as high as #6 in the country during the season and went 2-1 at the NJCAA national tournament to garner 5th place, as freshman Emily Koehler earned All-Tournament honors.  Koehler was named Region XIX Player of the Year and earned NJCAA All-American honors, while Anna Domyan earned EPAC Player of the Year and Ashley McCauley was voted MVP of the Region XIX Tournament.

2012 was a break-through year for Northampton, as Yaguez led the Spartans to a 22-1 record, their first-ever Region XIX Championship, an EPAC championship and within one point of the NJCAA national tournament.  Kelly Yagerhofer became NCC's first-ever Region XIX Player of the Year and NCC broke into the NJCAA national top-10 rankings at #9.

The 2011 season witnessed the Spartans win the 500th match in program history, earn their first ever national ranking, tie for the regular season Region XIX championship and finish with an overall record of 15-2.

The Spartans left the EPCC in 2010 and became a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and Region XIX.  In their first season of competition, NCC tied for the regular season championship with a record of 7-3.

Prior to joining the NJCAA, the Spartans were very successful in the old Eastern Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference (EPCC), winning 11 tournament titles and a Pennsylvania Collegiate Athletic Association (PCAA) state championship in 1988.