AMCATS Honor Acosta on Senior Night

Paxton, MA – The Fuller Activities Center at Anna Maria College was the site for three GNAC conference volleyball matches between the AMCATS of Anna Maria College, the Wildcats of Johnson and Wales University, and the Raiders of Rivier University on Friday evening.

The AMCATS opened up today's volleyball marathon against the Wildcats. The Wildcats came out of the gate firing, and remained hot throughout the match, overcoming the AMCATS in three straight sets with the scores of 25-11, 25-21, and 25-16.

Senior outside hitter Karlie Haack (Selkirk, NY) and sophomore middle hitter Carley Kirk led Johnson and Wales with eight kills each. Kirk also had two block assists and one solo block in the match.  Alyssa Drapeau (Biddeford, ME), a sophomore outside hitter, and freshman setter Kellen Tensen (New Canaan, CT) added 13 and 12 assists, respectively.

Sandy Acosta (Lawrence, MA), an outside hitter for the AMCATS, led Anna Maria with 8 kills. Freshman setter Samantha Parker (Athol, MA) had a match high 16 assists.

The middle match was between the number one ranked team in the GNAC, Rivier University, and Johnson and Wales, the second ranked team in the conference. Rivier took this match, winning 25-20, 25-23, and 25-13.

The third GNAC Volleyball match of the day was preceded by a celebratory speech honoring senior outside hitter Sandy Acosta's athletic and academic achievements over her four years here at Anna Maria College. Leading up to today, Acosta had 677 kills and 223 blocks in her career, both of which are AMCAT records. She also holds the records for most kills in a match and most blocks in a match.

The Raiders won their second consecutive match of the night, taking the first set 25-11, the second 25-9, and the third 25-21. The Raiders were led by sophomore outside hitter Taylor Davis (Machiasport, ME), who had a team high 5 kills, and also had two solo blocks and two block assists. Defensive specialist Samantha LaRosa (Salem, NH) led Rivier University with 9 assists.

The AMCATS' Parker led the team with 9 assists as well. Alex Rodriguez (Puerto Rico, PR), a junior outside hitter, provided the most offense for Anna Maria, delivering five kills. Acosta ended up adding three kills to her record in her final match as an AMCAT.

Both the Wildcats and the Raiders qualify for playoff play with records of 13-18 (8-4 GNAC) and 21-9 (11-1 GNAC), respectively.

The Anna Maria College Volleyball team finishes their 2012 season 3-22 overall and 0-12 in the GNAC.