Women's Volleyball locks in postseason berth with win over SNHU

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts – A quick turnaround had no ill effect on the American International College women's volleyball team, which earned a 25-19, 25-16, 25-23 win over Southern New Hampshire University on Saturday, October 28 for its second victory in 18 hours, clinching a postseason berth in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship Tournament. 

AIC improves to 13-8 overall and 6-2 in the NE10 with a win.

It was a back-and-forth battle in the first, but at 8-8 AIC began to build a lead with two runs and eight of the next nine points; an Aleksandra Ivanovic kill put AIC ahead 17-10. The Penmen cut into it somewhat, but could not get close, and Paola Soto Burgos put away the set to give AIC a lead.

The Yellow Jackets looked more comfortable in the second, and jumped to a huge lead early, getting up 15-6 after back-to-back Soto Burgos kills that induced a Penmen timeout. The visiting squad did level the playing field in that set thereafter, but it was too late, and Ivanovic scored the penultimate and final kill of the set to push AIC's edge to 2-0.

In the third, the Penmen started strong, taking a 6-2 lead and forcing AIC to take a timeout. The Yellow Jackets responded to the stoppage, taking a 10-7 lead with eight of the next nine points, only to have the Penmen grab nine of the following 11 to wrest control right back. They led all the way through 22-20 when AIC made the final move, scoring three straight and forcing another timeout. Out of the break, the Penmen were called for a rotation violation, giving AIC match point, and Soto Burgos finished it off two points later with an emphatic kill to win the contest.

Soto Burgos led the match with 15 kills, while Ivanovic and Kristina Peric each added nine. Alice Di Francesco dished out 40 assists in the win.

AIC next hits the road for three straight, beginning on October 31 at Franklin Pierce with a 7:00 p.m. start.