New Jersey City University Athletics

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | The New Jersey City University athletic family is mourning the passing of perhaps the greatest defensive player in Gothic Knight women's volleyball history, Lyanelly 'Laly' Negron Dapia `10. A four-year standout and key member of the 2005 New Jersey Athletic Conference and 2006 ECAC South championship teams, she passed away on April 4 after a long illness. The Union, N.J. native and young mother was 29.
 
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Negron, a 2005 graduate of Union High School, helped NJCU reach three NJAC championship matches in 2005, 2006 and 2007. In a four-year career from 2005-08, she defended 1,348 total digs—the third most in school history and the most by any defensive specialist ever to don an NJCU uniform. In her four seasons, the Gothic Knights went a combined 101-33 overall and 27-4 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, while winning the 2005 and 2007 NJAC regular season titles.
 
When NJCU won the 2005 NJAC Tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament, it became the only women's team in school history to ever win an NJAC crown. The following year NJCU was the No. 1 seed in the ECAC Division III Tournament and rolled to the first postseason championship in program history while setting a single-season school record with 33 victories (33-8). On September 29, 2006 in a 3-2 win over Vassar, she uncorked 41 digs—the second most in a match in school history and one shy of the program standard.
 

Former head coach Chris Feliciano `03 said: "It's hard to put into words what Laly meant to New Jersey City University. She was the heart that defined our program. More importantly, she was the glue that held her teammates together through the tough times not only on the court but off of it as well. Without question, she was a remarkable human being that believed in creating a family environment, one in which continued well after her graduation from NJCU. In my eyes she was a hero and for anyone that had the privilege to know her, their lives were enriched by her."
 
While wearing No. 3 as a libero and defensive specialist, she played in 429 sets and 121 matches, averaging 3.14 digs per set. She still ranks fourth in school history in total sets played and seventh in matches. She also served 115 aces. She had at least 230 digs in every season with a career-high of 549 in 2006—fifth in single-season history. She averaged 3.71 digs that year.
 
In her career, Negron produced double digits in digs 67 times, including 20 or more nine times. In 2006, she had double figures in kills 28 times and 20 or more in five matches—including the near-record 41 against Vassar, 32 in four sets against Neumann in the ECAC Quarterfinals and 25 more in the four-set ECAC championship win over Penn State-Behrend on November 11, 2006.
 
A team tri-captain as a senior in 2008 with teammates and close friends Jacqueline LeBlanc and Sarah Torres, Negron was a leader on and off the court, serving as the program's representative to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in 2008-09. As a senior she was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 15th annual Gothic Knight Invitational.
 
In Fall 2014, Negron, known for her infectious smile, was honored alongside several of her teammates, including LeBlanc, Torres, Lizzelle Cintron and Glorinell Perez at the University's inaugural 'Gothic Greats' celebration.
 
Teammates and loved ones took to social media on Tuesday. One post said: "Laly was a pure soul, one of those unique people who just don't exist anymore. Every person she came across, she filled with brightness and joy."
 
She came to NJCU from Union High School where she was a four-year varsity volleyball player, earning Second-Team All-County honors, and was her team's MVP as a junior and senior. She also played four years of basketball (three varsity) for the Farmers.
 
The 2010 graduate earned a B.A. in Accounting at NJCU and had begun a career as an accountant for Third Point LLC.

Born January 16, 1988, Negron was married in 2013 to her college sweetheart, Gonzalo Dapia, a four-year standout for the NJCU men's soccer team. The couple has a newborn son, Sebastian.

 
SERVICES:
 
Viewing:
Thursday, April 6; 5-8 p.m.
Whigham Funeral Home
580 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
Newark, N.J. 07102
 
Funeral:
Friday, April 7; 10 a.m.

To make a contribution to Laly's family for her medical expenses, and to create a college fund for the Dapia's newborn son, friends are invited to visit https://www.gofundme.com/2rpndmk.