SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - It was a milestone night for
Victoria Mendez, who broke the 1000 assist plateau in a 25-11, 25-11, 25-21 win for the American International College women's volleyball team against Monroe University on Thursday, September 17.
AIC is now 13-0 to open the season.
Despite two early errors, AIC was clinical in a first-set win, not making a mistake on the attack after the sixth point;
Janelys Perez Cortes planted down six kills, while
Victoria Soto Burgos had a hand in five blocks in the set. As a team, the Yellow Jackets hit a blistering .452 and held the Mustangs to -.029.
The offense was more spread out in the second, but the ultimate story was the same; led by
Selin Guler's four kills and two aces, AIC hit .310 as a team and left the Monroe offense underwater on the attack in easily dispatching their opposition.
Head Coach
Eli Irizarry went to his bench for the third, but with Mendez sitting at 998 assists after two sets, opted to allow the senior the chance to reach the milestone early on. It paid off, and
Defne Aydin notched both of the early-set kills off of Mendez's passes that gave her the magical moment - though not without some consternation, as the Mustangs challenged the in/out call on the second Aydin strike.
It held, and so did AIC's lead as Aydin finished three more kills in the set,
Lajla Rasljanin added four, and
Yuleishka Alvelo Melendez made eight digs to put the match away.
AIC hit .306 for the match, and Perez Cortes's eight kills led the contest, followed by Guler,
Carissa Michel, and Rasljanin with seven each. Soto Burgos posted seven blocks in total, while Perez Cortes led AIC with nine digs, one ahead of Melendez,
Mia Berdecia, and Michel with eight apiece.
The Yellow Jackets will next battle East Region rival Mercy University on Thursday, September 24 at 7:00 p.m.
