WALTHAM, Massachusetts – All aspects of the game were working for the American International College women's volleyball team in its Northeast 10 Conference Championship Semifinal showdown with second-seeded Adelphi University, as the Yellow Jackets swept the Panthers 25-11, 25-18, 25-18 at Bentley University's Dana Center on Friday, November 22.
AIC is now 18-6 on the season.
From the first whistle, AIC took command, and it was Daniella Russo-Lolas starting things off with a kill and then an ace before setting up Lajla Rasljanin for a kill. AIC built to an 11-6 lead on a Perla Rosa ace, forcing a Panthers timeout, but the Yellow Jackets just kept pushing, and another ace, this time by Janelys Perez Cortes for a 16-8 edge, forced a second Panthers stoppage. It hardly mattered, as AIC outscored Adelphi 9-3 from there to take the set, ending on a Paola Soto Burgos ace, the team's fifth of the set.
It was a thoroughly dominating performance in the first, as AIC hit .500 with 16 kills, including five on six swings by Carissa Michel. Perez Cortes landed three on six swings, and Soto-Burgos had four on seven.
The second set saw some early back-and-forth, but AIC began pulling away again, and a Michel and Raslljanin combo block followed by another Russo-Lolas ace put AIC ahead by five at 14-9, but AIC began pulling away again. Ultimately, the set ended with a Perez Cortes kill, giving AIC a 2-0 advantage.
The Yellow Jackets defense locked in in the set, with four blocks and 18 digs, helping hold the top offense in the NE10 to just a .077 attack percentage, while the Yellow Jackets drew four kills on five swings by Rasljanin and seven digs by Rosa.
With the win in sight, Perez Cortes got AIC going with an early kill and pair of aces, and back-to-back errors put Adelphi down 8-4. The Yellow Jackets kept adding to the lead, and Soto Burgos notched a kill to bring AIC to a 20-12 lead, forcing the Panthers to take their last timeout. It was only delaying the inevitable, and fittingly it was AIC's two longest-tenured players that ended it, as Rosa set Soto-Burgos for the final kill, a shot that deflected off the block of Adelphi and out for the win.
AIC again dominated defensively; despite only one block, the Panthers managed to hit just .087 on the set.
For the match, AIC had 12 aces, led by Perez Cortes with four and Russo-Lolas with three. Soto Burgos led with nine kills, while Michele and Perez Cortes each had eight and Rasljanin six. Rosa dug 17 attacks of AIC's 39 total, and Russo-Lolas dished 19 assists.
The win sets up a rematch of last year's NE10 and East Region Championship, as the Yellow Jackets and Falcons will face off at the Dana Center at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 22 for the title, and the NE10's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament with it.
