NORTH ANDOVER, Massachusetts- The American International College volleyball team opened the first day of the Merrimack Invite against No. 5 University of Nebraska-Kearney and Bentley University. The Yellow Jackets dropped their match to Nebraska-Kearney, 3-0, but rallied together and took a 3-1 win over Bentley.

#5 Nebraska-Kearney
The Lopers (9-0) came in off a 3-0 victory over Southern New Hampshire giving up only 25 points throughout the match. The Yellow Jackets battled with #5 team but ultimately fell 3-0, 25-10, 25-13, 25-14.

Bentley
After losing in straight sets to Nebraska-Kearney, the Yellow Jackets knew that they had to regroup, as they had another match just hours later. The Yellow Jackets did just that, taking the match from Bentley, 25-19, 21-25, 25-22, 27-25.

The Yellow Jackets swung an impressive .529 as a team in the first set with 18 kills and no errors. Annie Boele had five kills, while Caitlin Sobolewski and Diva Rivas-Reyes had four each. In the second set, the Yellow Jackets continued to swing well, as they recorded 16 kills on 35 attempts.

In the end the Yellow Jackets swung .304, their second best kill percentage of the season. Once again there were four Yellow Jackets with double-digit kills. Rivas-Reyes notched 18 kills on 41 attempts, while Jana Potic was right behind her with 17. Sobolewski and Boele each chipped in 12 kills. Boele also threw in 16 digs to give her a double-double, her fifth of the season.

The Yellow Jackets continue in the Merrimack Invite tomorrow at 10 a.m. against East Stroudsburg. In the afternoon session, the Yellow Jackets will play Merrimack at 4 p.m.