AMHERST, New York- The American International College volleyball team played in just their second ever NCAA tournament against the Dolphins of Le Moyne. The Yellow Jackets dropped their match against Le Moyne earlier this season, but this afternoon it was the Yellow Jackets who walked away with the win. The Yellow Jackets took the match in three sets, by scores of 25-23, 25-12, and 26-24.

In the first set, the Yellow Jackets gave the Dolphins the 1-0 lead on a service error. The Dolphins took the next two points and jumped to an early 3-0 lead. The Yellow Jackets came back and tied the game at three. As the game went on, both teams showed that this match would not be an easy win for either team. With a 16-12 lead in favor of the Dolphins, the Yellow Jackets called a timeout and went on a 4-0 run to tie the game at 16. With a 23-22 lead, the Yellow Jackets were looking to put away the set, but the Dolphins' Natalie Casson had a kill to tie the game. Annie Boele had the hot arm for the Yellow Jackets as she ended the set with two kills, to total seven kills in the first set, and the Yellow Jackets took the set 25-23.

The energy from the first set carried over to the second set for the Yellow Jackets as they went on a 5-1 run and forced a Dolphin timeout. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, the run did not end there, as the Jackets took the 10-1 lead. There was only one thing the Yellow Jackets had on their mind, the East Region Semifinals, as they continued to control the match and took a 15-point lead, 23-8. The 7-0 Yellow Jacket run was ended on a Dolphin kill. A late run by the Dolphins came just a little too late, as the Yellow Jackets took the set, 25-12.

As the teams headed into the third set, the Dolphins had a sense of urgency as the two teams traded benches. The Yellow Jacket entered the set looking relaxed, knowing they need to win just one more set to make program history.

It was the Dolphins who came out and took control of the match early 9-3. Coach Matthew Cribbin called a timeout to refocus his team. They came out of the timeout ready and closed their deficit to 12-9 when the Dolphins took a timeout of their own. A seven-point Dolphin lead meant nothing to the Yellow Jackets as back-to-back Dolphin errors made it a 22-19 Dolphin lead. The Yellow Jackets had their back against the wall in the third set as they trailed 24-21. They rallied off three straight points to tie the set. The Yellow Jackets then forced two Dolphins errors to take the match, 26-24.

This win marks the first-ever NCAA win in program history. Annie Boele led the team in kills and digs with 13 and 11. She committed only one error and swung a season-high .545. Diva Rivas-Reyes had nine kills while Jana Potic and Lauren Pires chipped in six kills each. Dolores Kopren recorded 28 assists of the team's 33 total assists and also dug out 10 balls.

The Yellow Jackets continue their season tomorrow at 5 p.m. against #1 NYIT.