SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts The American International College men's volleyball team was back at the friendly confines of Butova Gym on Tuesday, February 15 as they fell in straight sets to Sacred Heart University.
FAST FACTS:
Final Score:Sacred Heart 3, AIC 0
Set Scores: 14-25, 16-25, 13-25
Records:AIC falls to 1-7, while Sacred Heart moves to 4-3
Location:Butova Gym Springfield, Massachusetts
KEY STATS:
AIC:
John Rivera Ortiz: 12 kills, four digs
Ben Warren: four kills
Brendan Hickey: 12 assists, three digs
Sacred Heart:
Patrick Mucherino: nine kills, five digs, four blocks
Mark Berry: six kills, three digs, three aces
Dylan McClung: six kills
Carlos Santa Cruz: six kills
Teddy Payne: 23 assists, three digs, three blocks
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Pioneers served first but rookie John Rivera Ortiz scored the first point with authority on a kill. AIC led 4-2 when the visitors went on a 6-1 run to take the 7-5 lead.
- AIC trailed 12-7 when freshman Ben Warren and Rivera Ortiz had back-to-back kills before Rivera Ortiz and classmate Alex Marinaro sent an attack back to make it a two-point game. After the teams traded points the Pioneers went on a 12-3 run to take the first set 25-14.
- The Yellow Jackets trailed 5-3 when they took advantage of a Pioneer service error. Marinaro and freshman Brenden Hickey had a block followed by kills by Rivera Ortiz and first-year Wilmer Rodriguez.
- Sacred Heart turned the tables and took five of the next six points to retake the lead. They took the second set 25-16.
- The Pioneers jumped out to a 14-4 lead on their way to taking the set 25-13 and take the match.
UP NEXT:
- The Yellow Jackets will head to Albany, New York to take on The Sage College on Saturday, February 19 at 7 p.m.
