AMCATS Win on DIG PINK Night

PAXTON, Mass. – Led by senior Sandy Acosta's (Lawrence, Mass.)11 kills and freshman Samantha Parker's (Athol, Mass.)12 assists the Anna Maria College's women's volleyball team downed Route 56 rival Becker College 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 18-25, 25-16) in non-conference action on Monday night. Both teams donned pink warm-up attire on Dig Pink night at Fuller Center, with the win the AMCATS ended a 5-game skid improving to 3-20 while the Hawks slip to 2-22.

AMCAT sophomore Kelly Delaney (Charlton, Mass.) led all players with 16 digs, and teammates Jacqueline Clinton (Walpole, Mass.) and Emily Adriaansen (Pepperell, Mass.) each contributed 7 kills. Freshman Brianna LaRegina (Troy, NY) had a team high 4 service aces, 8 assists and 4 kills on the night.

For the Hawks, Jacqueline Chila (Monroe, CT) led the way with 10 kills and a game-high 5 aces, while Joanne Slomiak (Brocton, Mass.) dished out 9 assists and had 7 digs on defense.  

The opening set had Anna Maria with an early 14-6 lead but the Hawks' Kayla Prior (Swansea, Mass.) held serve for the next nine points en route to a 15-14 lead. The AMCATS roared back with a 5-1 run with Megan Leyton pacing the backline to take a 19-16. Becker cut the lead to one point late but an Alyssa Haberman (Boca Raton, FLA) sealed the victory for AMC.

In the second set, AMC had a slim 9-6 lead before LaRegina served up three consecutive aces and an added kill by Kayla Cummings (Auburn, ME) to push the lead to 13-6. A pair of defensive errors by the AMCATS helped the Hawks back into the game at 20-17 however junior Alex Rodriguez answered with a pair of kills to notch the second set win.

Trailing two sets to one, Becker orchestrated a 14-9 lead in game three, highlighted by a pair of Chila aces. Anna Maria was unable to respond with a run and dropped the game 25-18.

A tight fourth set was tied 8-8, but a 10-3 run featuring a two kills each by Acosta and Clinton put Anna Maria in front for good. Sam Parker's final kill of the night closed out the 25-16 game for the AMCATS.

Anna Maria returns to action on Friday night when they host GNAC opponents Johnson & Wales and Rivier in a season ending tri-match at 4:00pm and 8:00pm. The AMCATS will honor senior Sandy Acosta in a pre-game ceremony before the second game of the evening. The Hawks are back in action on Wednesday night when the travel to Bay Path for an 8:00pm tip-off.