Women's Volleyball drops heartbreaker at New Haven

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut - The American International College women's volleyball team fell 22-25, 25-20, 25-21, 19-25, 12-15 to the University of New Haven in Northeast-10 Conference play on Tuesday, October 10.

AIC is now 9-7 overall and 4-1 in the NE10.

Despite a strong first set offensively in which AIC hit .314 to New Haven's .182, the Chargers came out on top thanks to the serve, with AIC committing five errors and New Haven grabbing four aces.

The Yellow Jackets settled in and dominated the second; after the Chargers tied the set at 12-12, AIC grabbed three in a row with two Aleksandra Ivanovic kills and a block, ultimately taking eight of the next 11. One more short run sealed the win.

New Haven led early in the third, but AIC chipped away, and a seven-point run late flipped a 17-14 deficit to a 21-17 lead. AIC closed it from there, with Kristina Peric driving a ball down for the set point.

The Yellow Jackets jumped to a 4-1 lead in the fourth, but the Chargers cranked up their play with a match-best 10-point run. AIC never recovered from that as the Chargers took the set to force five.

In the fifth, the set was even at 11, but serving again hurt AIC with a service error and a New Haven ace. The Chargers were able to finish it off from there to earn the win.

Four Yellow Jackets hitters reached double-digit kill totals, with Dora Butkovic tops with 16, and Paola Soto Burgos equaling Ivanovic with 15. Amber Williams rounded out the quartet with 10. Perla Rosa scored 24 digs and Claudia Flores Marrero added 20. Alice Di Francesco dished 57 assists to go with 17 digs. Ivanovic led AIC with six blocks, while Soto Burgos added four to go with 12 digs. 

AIC continues the road swing with a battle at the University of Bridgeport on Tuesday, October 17 at 7:00 p.m.