AMHERST, New York- The American International College volleyball team was in an unfamiliar position as it took on the New York Institute of Technology in its first-ever appearance in the NCAA East Regional semifinals on Friday, December 2. The Yellow Jackets dropped the first set but were able to fight back and take sets two, three, and four on their way to the victory. The set scores were 21-25, 25-21, 25-21, and 25-17.
The Yellow Jackets served first but it was the Bears who were on the board first. Two errors by the Bears gave the Yellow Jackets the early 2-1 lead. With the score at 9-7 in favor of the Bears, the two teams traded the next 13 points and brought it to a one-point game, 15-14 in favor of the Bears. NYIT used a three-point swing to brake the trading. Down 22-19, Annie Boele killed two from Dolores Kopren to make it a two-point game. It was just a little too late as the Bears rallied off three points and took the first set, 25-21.
During the intermission, Coach Matt Cribbin and his swarm took the opportunity to make some changes. It showed early as they were up 4-3 and then used two kills and a Bear error to take the 7-3 lead. The Bears' coach did not like what she was seeing and called a timeout. That timeout worked as they came out and took the 8-7 lead. As the Yellow Jackets pulled back in front by five, the Bears used a five-point streak to for Cribbin to call a timeout with the score tied at 16. Both teams knew that it would be a late kill or an error that would swing this set in someone's favor. Luckily for the Yellow Jackets, it was a Kopren kill from Mercy Rivera that was that swinging point. Evelyn Lopez then aced one and Diva Rivas-Reyes nailed one home to make it 24-20. Following a Bear point, Rivas-Reyes slammed one home and took the set, 25-21, and tied the match and one set a piece.
In the third set, the match was tied at nine-all when the Yellow Jackets went on a tear and scored three straight. The Bears called a timeout to hopefully end the streak, but the Yellow Jackets showed their ability to attack with multiple players and rallied off three more. The Bears did not shy away despite being down 15-9. They clawed their way back and made it a 17-15 game. Another three-point run by the Yellow Jackets forced a Bear timeout. The Yellow Jackets had set point when the Bears made an attack error and gave the Yellow Jackets a 2-1 lead in the match as they took the third set 25-21.
The Bears were shaking as the fourth set started, as they found themselves down 3-0 quickly. As they had all match, the Bears battled back and took the lead 5-4. Each team had nine when the tipping point happened for the set. The Yellow Jackets used a kill by Lauren Pires to go on another 3-0 run to pull ahead. It was from that point on that the crowd could feel the match favoring the underdog Yellow Jackets. The Yellow Jackets upset the Bears of NYIT on a kill from none other than the Northeast-10 Player of the Year, Rivas-Reyes.
The win was a team effort as the Yellow Jackets had four players in double-digit kills, three in double-digit digs, and two double-doubles. Rivas-Reyes lead the way with 16 kills on 31 attempts and only three errors. Boele had a great performance for the second straight night as she recorded 13 kills and 15 digs. NE10 Rookie of the Year Jana Potic had 12 kills and 11 digs as she scored 14 points. Lauren Pires also had 12 kills in the match. The middle blockers for the Yellow Jackets, Pires and Caitlin Sobolewski, combined for 19 kills and no errors as they both swung at least .500. Kopren was a big factor in the win as she helped get four Yellow Jackets into double-digits kills as she had 49 assists. Rivera held up her title of NE10 Libero and Defensive Player of the Year as she led the team with 17 digs.
A trip to Sioux Falls, South Dakota will be on the line tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. when the Yellow Jackets will play in the NCAA East Region Finals. They will play the winner of the #3 New Haven vs #2 Daemon match which started at 7:30 p.m.
