Men's Volleyball opens 2024 campaign with instant classic win over Regis

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - Trailing 1-0 and 2-1, the American International College men's volleyball team ensured its home opener ended the way the Yellow Jackets wanted it to, downing Regis College 18-25, 30-28, 21-25, 25-18, 15-11 on Thursday, January 11.

AIC is now 1-0 on the season.

The Yellow Jackets dug an early 7-1 hole in the opening set from which they never recovered; although the team settled in thereafter, a four-point run later in the set, keyed by a pair of aces, put it out of reach as the Pride cruised to the 25-18 win, scoring set point on an Andrew Matzouranis kill.

The second set was much more back-and-forth, with 22 different tie scores. The Pride had set point at 24-23 and 25-24, but a kill by Isaiah Lee and a serving error ended the respective threats, and AIC never trailed in the set after that, with John Rivera Ortiz scoring a kill for a 29-28 edge before Collin Doyle and Michael Maldonado combo blocked set point.

The third favored the visiting team again, as the Pride built a smaller lead than they held in the first, and though AIC tried to claw back and managed to tie the set 19-19 and 20-20 on Robert Santana and Lee kills, Regis scored five of the final six, finishing with a Joseph Perez kill to take the 2-1 advantage.

The fourth, like the second, saw the teams trade runs, with four-point swings for both teams early. The Yellow Jackets found a new gear late in the set, however, with four in a row and six of seven as a quartet of errors hampered Regis. Lee smashed down the final point of the set to force the decisive fifth.

Five straight errors - two by Regis and then three by AIC - opened the finale, before Ortiz scored the first kill of the frame. Shortly after, a three-point run for the Yellow Jackets allowed the home team to score the side-flipping eighth point, and AIC held off the opposition from there, with Ortiz, Doyle, and Lee scoring the three final kills of the match, the last one for the winning point, to give AIC victory.

Ortiz shined for AIC, with 18 kills and a dozen digs, while Lee's debut was equally brilliant with 17 kills and five blocks. Robert Santana added 10 kiills, while Michael Maldonado set the final four frames, racking up 41 assists.

The Yellow Jackets next head west on Friday, January 19 to face D'Youville University at 7:00 p.m., and will follow the next day with a 1:00 p.m. match at Daemen University.