Women's Volleyball upended by Penmen in NE10 Quarterfinal

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - The American International College women's volleyball team was stunned by Southern New Hampshire University, 22-25, 25-20, 26-28, 25-13, 15-17 in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship Tournament Quarterfinal on Tuesday, November 14.

AIC is now 16-10 on the season.

Defense was the name of the game in the opening set as both teams hit under .100. AIC fell behind early, 8-2, and though the Yellow Jackets trimmed the lead to one as late as 23-22, they never tied it; a Dai Thawnghmung service ace gave the Penmen the opening set.

The second was back-and-forth as the teams traded the lead, with AIC rebounding from a five-point run by the Penmen with one of its own led by two Amber Williams kills. Another big run opened things up for the Yellow Jackets, who took advantage of errors by Southern New Hampshire to grab the set.

The third was largely like the second, with blocks on both sides beginning to pile up. A Paola Soto-Burgos kill gave AIC set point at 24-21, but a determined Penmen attack led by Allesandra Peli with three kils and a block tied things at 25-25, and three straight errors by AIC flipped the set to the favor of the guests, 28-26.

Now facing elimination, AIC kicked into a high gear. They limited the Penmen to just one two-point run and forced a number of errors as they dominated to take the fourth and the momentum, winning the set when an Angela Mateos attack missed the line.

It was a race to 15 in the final set, and AIC led early, holding off a short rally by the Penmen and scoring five of seven after switching sides to get ahead 14-9. Match point was in AIC's hands, but the Penmen had other ideas. Four blocks, led by Claire Wohlleber, were the key to a six-point run that put the Penmen in the lead, 15-14. AIC got a kill from Soto-Burgos to tie it, but the Penmen, as they had a year ago in the East Region Final, had the gas in the tank to win the points beyond 15, ending AIC's run as NE10 Champions in stunning fashion.

Soto Burgos led the match with 22 kills and also contributed 17 digs and four blocks; Amber Williams hit .471 with nine kills and five blocks, and Aleksandra Ivanovic put up seven blocks with five kills. Alice Di Francesco lannded five kills and dished 47 assists to go with 19 digs and three blocks, and Perla Rosa pulled up 28 digs.

AIC will now wait for the decision of the selection committee to see if the Yellow Jackets will make their third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.