ORANGEBURG, New York - The American International College men's volleyball team dropped its first two East Coast Conference matches of 2026 in straight sets, falling 20-25, 19-25, 22-25 to St. Thomas Aquinas College and 12-25, 20-25, 20-25 to Dominican University on Saturday, March 14 and Sunday, March 15, respectively.

AIC is now 1-13 on the season and 0-2 in the ECC.

The first set against the Spartans was an offensive show, as both teams hit above .300. AIC was able to build to an 11-8 lead before a seven-point run for the home squad flipped the scoreline, and then the teams traded points down to the end as the Spartans took the set.

The hosts roared to an early nine-point lead, 15-6, in part thanks to back-to-back aces, to open the second. AIC was able to cut the gap back to four with a five-point run, but could not get much closer; at 22-19, the Spartans took the final three points with kills to grab the set.

In the third, play was tight the whole way, but a few short runs by the Spartans pushed them to a 24-19 lead. Toreign Foster made three straight blocks to keep AIC alive, but a serving error ended the match in the favor of the home team.

On the second day, Dominican wasted no time, building a 14-4 first set lead. AIC did not score consecutive points in the set, and the Chargers took it easily.

The Yellow Jackets locked in to start the second and grabbed five of the first six points, led by a block and two kills from Robert Santana. The Chargers were able to chip away, however, taking the lead and then pulling away to win the second 25-20.

AIC once again started strong with a 4-1 lead, but Dominican negated that with an early four-point run. The Yellow Jackets battled to tie the match back up at 11-11, and again at 14-14 and 15-15, but did not take the lead at any point, and the Chargers landed back-to-back kills to win the set and the match.

Santana led AIC in kills in both matches with eight against the Spartans and 11 against the Chargers; Aidan Miller dished out 40 assists across the six sets, and Santana led the way with nine digs total as well. 

AIC will break from conference play with a game at Merrimack College on Thursday, March 19 at 7:00 p.m.