Women's volleyball splits on final day of Sandy Hoffman Memorial Invitational

WALTHAM, Massachusetts – The American International College women's volleyball team split the final day of the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Invitational, defeating Purdue Northwest 3-1 before falling to Bentley University 3-1 on Saturday, August 27.

AIC stands at 3-1 on the season.

The Pride took the first set of the day's opener, a back-and-forth battle with only one team managing even a four-point run. AIC put together four in a row, and six of seven, to close a 20-12 gap to 21-18, but the Pride held off the Yellow Jackets to win 25-20.

AIC came out much stronger in the second set, working quickly to a 6-1 lead thanks in part to a pair of blocks by Amber Williams. The advantage proved insurmountable for the Pride, as the Yellow Jackets answered every run until Paola Soto Burgos put home the finishing kill to win the set 25-17.

With the match now a best-of-three, the teams played evenly through 14-14 when AIC went on a run. Dora Butkovic landed a pair of kills, followed by back-to-back Soto Burgos aces; out of a timeout, Butkovic and Aleksandra Ivanovic teamed for a block to extend the run and the lead. The Pride were never able to get closer than down two from that point, and again Soto Burgos put the finishing touch on the set with a kill.

The teams traded runs to 10-10 in the fourth when AIC took over. Williams put AIC ahead with a kill, and then followed with two blocks as the Yellow Jackets scored 10 of the next 11 points, thanks in part to errors by the Pride. Their comeback effort was ultimately doomed by those errors; AIC's lead shrank during a 7-3 opposing run, but six of the final seven Yellow Jackets points were Pride errors, including the final one for the 25-18 win and 3-1 match victory.

AIC then turned to its conference rival, the host Falcons. In the first set, the score was even at 9-9 when the Falcons flew onto a 9-1 run. AIC scored six of the next eight, but the hole was too deep as the Falcons took the set 25-20.

The second set saw Bentley jump out to a 6-1 lead, and AIC was unable to turn the tide. The Falcons limited AIC's offense to hitting just .062 and took the set 25-18.

With their backs against the wall for the first time, the third set went to the Yellow Jackets. Naomi Eckert Rivera sandwiched two aces between blocks by Williams to give AIC a quick 4-0 lead. The Falcons chipped away, tying the set at 15-15 and 16-16, but AIC never allowed the Falcons to gain the lead. Andrea Serra Rosa ended the set with a kill, giving AIC hope and a 25-21 set win. 

As with the third, AIC roared to an early lead in the fourth. Kristina Peric pounded two kills home to start the first run. The Falcons again tied the match, this time at 10-10, but Andjela Bublic put up a block and a kill before two more Peric scores gave AIC back its lead. The teams kept on trading scores, with the match tying up at 21-21 and neither side budging through 28-28 before the Falcons finally broke through, as Ingrid Murphy posted a kill and Amanda Parker followed on the next point with a block to take the set 30-28 and the match 3-1

AIC's regular season win streak was halted at a program-best 20 games; the team's last regular season defeat was September 25, 2021 against Stonehill College.

On the day, Ivanovic led AIC with 23 kills to just two errors; Williams totaled an incredible 14 blocks, with four solo and 10 assisted. Eckert Rivera put up 84 assists, with four kills and 21 blocks; her 149 assists on the weekend leads the Northeast-10 Conference. Perla Rosa picked up 38 digs between the matches to lead the Yellow Jackets, including a match-best 23 against Bentley.

AIC will turn its attention to its next tournament, which will be hosted by Nova Southeastern. AIC is scheduled to face Shaw and Slippery Rock on September 2 before a matchup with the host Sharks the following day.