AMCATS Split Tri-Match on Opening Day of the Season

LEICESTER, Mass – Saturday morning, the Anna Maria women's volleyball team started their 2018 campaign, entering the season with first year head coach, Jamika Townsend. Her team was thrown right in to the thick of it with a tri-match against geographical proximity rival Becker College and Vermont's Castleton State University.

Match 1 v Becker College

The first match against hosts Becker College was competitive but ended in three sets with the AMCATS falling to the Hawks 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-7).

Senior captain Sarah Lathrop (Waterford, Conn) led the way in the match for Anna Maria with six points, all of which were kills. Freshmen Chloe Vella (Leominster, Mass) and Jenna Grande (Whitman, Mass) each had five points in the match. Defensively, senior Victoria Falco (Marlborough, Mass) recorded 13 digs against Becker.

Two players recorded double digit points for the Hawks in the match; Sofia Cullina and Kayla Dupree who each had 13 points. Dupree had five kills which was good for second on the team behind Gillian Criddle who had seven kills, 8 points total. Morgan Gould led the team with 12 digs, Cullina had 11 of her own.

Match 2 v Castleton

Following their match with Becker, the 'Cats were right back on the court to face off against the Castleton Spartans. Each set and the outcome of this match went differently for Ann Maria as they won the match 3-1. Every set in the match was won 25-23 with AMC taking the first two, Castleton taking the third set and the AMCATS putting the match away in the fourth set by the same 25-23 score.

Sarah Lathrop (Waterford, Conn) continued her great day on the court with 10 points in the match including four kills and added 14 digs to her stat line. Junior Hanna Mitchell (Pittsfield, Mass) had a match-high 13.5 points including a match-high 13 kills. Freshman Megan Drew (Upton, Mass) also recorded double digit points, with 11 including five kills. Victoria Falco (Marlborough, Mass) led the team in digs for the second match in a row with 15.

For Castleton, Shannon Manchester had a match-high 13.5 points, with a team-high 10 kills. Three players had double digit digs for the Spartans; Meghan Zwatasky had a match-high 16, Madison Hamelink and Brianna Hake each had 11.

The AMCATS next match is on Thursday, September 6^th. They will travel to North Adams, Mass to take on MCLA in non-conference action. Match begins at 6pm.