Daemen upsets women's volleyball in East Region Final
SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - The American International College women's volleyball team suffered its first loss in 23 matches, falling 3-1 to Daemen College in the NCAA Division II East Region Final on Saturday, December 4.
FAST FACTS:
Final Score: Daemen 3, AIC 1
Set Scores: 20-25, 25-22, 21-25, 19-25
Records: Daemen improves to 25-7, while AIC's season ends at 29-7
Location: Henry Butova Gymnasium, Springfield, Massachusetts
KEY STATS:
Daemen:
Sam Logan: 17 kills, 10 digs
Caitlyn Meyer: 15 kills, 17 digs
Maggie Burns: 12 kills, 20 digs
Vanessa Kuliga: Nine kills, .450 attack percentage
Olivia Alessi: 48 assists, 21 digs
Jasmine Brundage: 27 digs
AIC:
Andrea Serra-Rosa: 14 kills, 18 digs
Paola Soto-Burgos: 14 kills
Mai-Lani Hernandez: 10 kills
Ulrika Blomgren: 10 kills, 10 digs
Naomi Eckert: 42 assists, 21 digs
Amanda Rodriguez: 22 digs, six assists
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The opening set was a back-and-forth affair, as the teams played to a 10-10 tie on the first 20 points, but a string of seven out of the next 10 went to the Wildcats as four different players rang up kills.
- AIC rallied back, taking advantage of blocks and errors to get within one at 20-19, but Daemen notched the next four, starting with a kill by Vanessa Kuliga and closed out by an Olivia Alessi ace to bring up set point. Two plays later, Sam Logan pounded the ball to the wood to win the set 25-20.
- AIC jumped out to an early lead in the second set, as Paola Soto-Burgos scored two blocks and a kill to push AIC ahead, and Mai-Lani Hernandez added three kills and an assist to put AIC up 9-5.
- Daemen went on a run to take a 12-11 edge, but AIC answered, as Soto-Burgos tied the set with a kill and sparked a rally, helping AIC build a four-point advantage. The Yellow Jackets hung on, taking set point by forcing a Daemen error to tie the match 1-1.
- The Wildcats jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the third, but AIC came back to tie things at 4-4 as Hernandez put up a block and then two kills. The teams traded runs to 17-17 before the Wildcats once again took over, scoring five points from five different players to go ahead 21-18. The set ended with an Amelia Armstrong kill at 25-21.
- Daemen wasted no time in taking a big lead in the fourth set, going up 7-2 with a pair of kills each from Maggie Burns and Kuliga. AIC rallied back to get within one, but the Wildcats consistently kept AIC at bay by stymying runs. With the Wildcats leading 20-18 they landed five of the last six points, and Caitlyn Meyer's final kill gave Daemen its first title.
ALL-REGIONAL TEAM:
- AIC placed five players on the All-Regional team.
- Naomi Eckert-Rivera, Amanda Rodriguez, Soto-Burgos, Andrea Serra-Rosa, and Ulrika Blomgren were the honorees for AIC.
ONE FINAL BOW FOR NUMBER 7:
- With 22 digs, Rodriguez reached 1,332 for her career.
- That mark puts her fifth all-time in program history, and third in the rally scoring era.
- She led the team in digs 28 times this season, and 48 times for her career; the match tonight was the 60th time she reached double digits in digs in a match.