SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts-The American International College volleyball team won a battle of wills with the Stonehill Skyhawks, taking a 3-2 victory from their in-state rivals in the Northeast-10 Conference opener for both teams.

AIC improves to 13-2 overall and 1-0 in the NE-10.

"I'm really proud of how our team managed to fight through yet another tough battle with a really good Stonehill team. It was awesome to see the entire team stick together even when we were down, and eventually come out with the result we wanted," said Head Coach Matt Cribbin of the match.

The Skyhawks were all over AIC in the first set and ultimately won it 25-18 as they struck for 12 kills to just six errors while AIC had eight kills and made eight errors on the attack. The visiting side took advantage of a string of early errors to build a lead they never relinquished.

The second set looked like it was heading in the same direction, with Stonehill leading 16-11 midway through, when the pendulum of momentum started swinging toward AIC. A series of errors by the Skyhawks pulled the Jackets close, and they drew the set even at 20-20.

From there, it was a battle for every point, and AIC prevailed, taking advantage of a few miscues by Stonehill to carry the set 25-21.

The third set was more back and forth, with Stonehill building to a 15-10 lead before AIC narrowed the gap, getting within one several times but ultimately dropping the set 25-23.

That would be the last set AIC lost, as they thrashed their way to a 25-14 fourth set win, racking up 13 kills and just two errors. The quintet of senior middle blocker Caitlin Sobolewski (Guilford, Conn.), junior outside hitter Annie Boele (Clovis, Calif.), senior middle blocker Lauren Pires (Dartmouth, Mass.), freshman outside hitter Jana Potic (Belgrade, Serbia) and sophomore outside hitter Diva Rivas-Reyes (Tucson, Ariz.) all played key roles, with Sobolewski and Pires leading the defensive effort and Boele, Potic, and Rivas each striking critical kills.

In the fifth set, AIC jumped out to an early lead, before Stonehill battled back to tie it 9-9. That was as close as the Skyhawks would get, with Pires and Rivas blocking for the go-ahead point and Rivas adding a pair of kills to help close out the 15-11 set win.

Rivas led the match with 17 kills, while Potic had 10, Boele had nine, and Pires and Sobolewski each had eight. Pires had seven blocks, and Potic added four. Junior libero Mercy Rivera (Canovanas, P.R.) had a match-high 28 digs defensively, with Boele, Potic, and Sobolewski each breaking double digits with 12, 11, and 10 respectively. Finally, sophomore setter Dolores Kopren (Novi Sad, Serbia) added to her conference lead with another 48 assists, chipping in six digs and one block as well.

AIC returns to action Tuesday, September 27 when they visit Le Moyne for a 7:00 p.m. NE-10 matchup in Syracuse.