CLARION, Pennsylvania – The American International College women's volleyball team went the distance twice on opening day of the 2025 season, falling 10-25, 26-24, 27-25, 16-25, 11-15 to Seton Hill University before rebounding to beat host Clarion University 25-21, 20-25, 25-17, 23-25, 15-11 on Friday, September 5.
AIC starts the season at 1-1.
After a rough first set that saw the team hit negative, the Yellow Jackets offense clicked into gear in the second. Jelena Milovanovic was at the forefront of an AIC attack that hit .312, leading the way with six kills on 13 swings, while Paola Soto Burgos collected five kills and Janelys Perez Cortes added four. The defense was locked in as well, with Claudia Flores Marrero going eight-for-eight in serve receive and grabbing six digs. That allowed the Yellow Jackets to tie the match, with the set point scoring on a combo block by Milovanovic and newcomer Renata Mijovic.
The third was an even battle as well; Flores Marrero continued to defend well, and Daniella Russo-Lolas settled into setting up AIC's offense, which spread the ball well enough to claim the set beyond 25 thanks to a pair of kills late by Perez Cortes that included the set point.
In the fourth, the Griffins made a key adjustment, and were able to squash AIC's swings thanks to seven blocks. They also hit .276 as a team, more than enough to take the set and force a fifth, where AIC made 10 errors and ultimately fell.
The team was not happy with the result, and the Yellow Jackets took out that frustration on host Clarion in the first set, with Perez Cortes leading the way with four kills, while Mijovic put down a kill, three blocks, and a pair of aces to lead AIC to the win.
Clarion rebounded to take the second, despite a 5-0-11 showing by Perez Cortes, but the third was all AIC as she and Milovanovic combined for 12 of the team's 14 kills while taking just 18 swings between them. AIC also aced three serves and collected 16 digs in the set.
With a chance to put it away in the fourth, the front lines of both teams went into high gear; Renata recorded four blocks and Soto Burgos made three, while Clarion had six blocks as a team, and both sides ended up with 17 digs. However, AIC could not get its offense through enough, and Clarion forced another fifth set.
With five ties and four lead changes, the final set came down to the wire, but AIC was able to pull away at the end; Milovanovic, Soto Burgos, and Perez Cortes each recorded a late kill to close out the 15-11 set win and the 3-2 match victory.
Perez Cortes led AIC with 34 kills on the day, while Milovanovic put away 28 and Soto Burgos had 25. Mijovic topped AIC's front with 12 blocks. Flores Marrero recorded 37 digs and 56 receptions, while Russo-Lolas dished out 82 assists, a new career high for assists in a season in just two matches.
Soto Burgos is approaching a key milestone; she is currently at 992 career kills. She will look to join an exclusive club of currently just six AIC volleyball players with four-digit kill totals: Andrea Serra Rosa (1836), Judith Swift (1583), Jana Potic (1497), Ellisha Terry (1286), Diva Rivas-Reyes (1278), and Sarah Neaves (1148).
She will have that chance alongside her teammates on Saturday, September 6 beginning at 9:00 a.m. when the Yellow Jackets face Shippensburg University and then continuing at 2:00 p.m. in the weekend finale against Roberts Wesleyan University.
