SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - The American International College women's volleyball team closed out its best weekend of September in style, sweeping the University of Bridgeport 25-17, 25-18, 25-17 on Saturday, September 28 to win the 2024 International Volleyball Hall of Fame East Region Clash with a perfect 3-0 record in the tournament and without dropping a set.

AIC is now 4-6 on the season.

Although the tournament was a round-robin format, the Purple Knights and Yellow Jackets both entered 2-0, making the contest the de facto championship match. That was evident in the early point trading in the first set, which was tied 8-8 before the Yellow Jackets started a run keyed by a pair of Gabryela Castro de Jesus kills. AIC scored nine of 11 points to take a commanding lead, forcing a Bridgeport timeout. The stoppage hardly slowed the Yellow Jackets, who put the set away when Castro de Jesus swatted down a kill.

In the second, the Yellow Jackets took control in chunks, stringing together several two-point and three-point runs without conceding multiple points the other way to build a 16-9 lead. In danger of falling into an insurmountable deficit, the Purple Knights reached back and closed to within one at 17-16, but never found the tying point. The Yellow Jackets closed with six of the final eight points, and Kiya Yeoman sent a shot to the wood that gave AIC the 2-0 advantage.

The Yellow Jackets were relentless, and multiple four-point runs helped AIC garner a 21-9 advantage in the third. The large lead allowed AIC to empty its bench, and though Bridgeport tried to rally, the Yellow Jackets closed out the win, with Janelys Perez Cortes tooling the Bridgeport block for match point.

Overall, AIC scored 51 kills against 14 errors for a .278 attack percentage. Victoria Mendez was AIC's star of the match, posting a "triple-double" of 10 kills, 18 assists, and 12 digs, while Perla Rosa and Daniella Russo-Lolas defended 14 and 10 attacks respectively. Castro de Jesus landed kills on nine of her 18 swings, with Jelena Milovanovic scoring on nine of her 20 swings.

AIC next plays Adelphi University on Saturday, October 5 at 1:00 p.m.

2024 International Volleyball Hall of Fame East Region Clash All-Tournament Team

OH: Carissa Michel (AIC), Gabryela Castro de Jesus (AIC), Grace Presswood (Bridgeport)
MB: Julia Cavalcanti (Southern New Hampshire), Aleksandra Lucic (AIC)
S: Jaden Drollinger (Bridgeport), Victoria Mendez (AIC)
L: Kyla Farnan (Saint Michael's)

Tournament MVP: Aleksandra Lucic (AIC)