Lady AMCATS Clip Vikings, 3-1

Paxton, Mass. – Sophomore Samantha Parker (Athol, Mass.) handed out 27 assists as the Anna Maria College women's volleyball team defeated the visiting Vikings of Salem State University 3-1 (25-16, 25-22, 21-25, 25-21) in non-conference action on Tuesday evening at the Fuller Activities Center.

With the win the AMCATS improve to 8-6 and the Vikings fall to 1-7 on the year. The AMCATS are closing in on the school record of wins in a season (9) set in 2001 when the squad went 9-10.

Sophomore Jessica Goulet (Lawrence, Mass.) paced AMC with a .462 hitting percentage on 13 total attempts in the four-set affair. Freshman Michelle Connolly (Quincy, Mass.) posted 16 digs and sophomore Emily Adriaansen (Pepperell, Mass.) tossed five service aces in the win.

The Vikings were led by seniors Jazmin Santos' (Lawrence, Mass.) 11 digs and MacKenzie Carpenter's (Peabody, Mass.) 21 helpers in the loss.

Anna Maria opened up the match with a 6-1 lead scoring four straight points behind the serve of  Adriaansen and coasted the rest of the way en route to the 25-16 triumph in set one.

Tied 14-14 in the second set, again backboned by the serve of Adriaansen, the AMCATS reeled off five straight points to open up a 19-14 lead. The guests would not go away quietly battling back to cut the deficit to 24-22 and hold the serve, however a defensive miscue by Salem would give the AMCATS a 2-0 lead heading into set three.

Behind the service of Emily Peay (Lebanon, CT) SSU would race out to a 7-0 lead, but the AMCATS would chip back at the lead and tie the game at 19-19 with a kill from junior Megan Leyton (Eastham, Mass.) but the Vikings would hold off the AMCAT offensive attack and pull out a 25-21 win in the third set.

With the momentum, the Vikings opened up a slim 3-1 lead in the fourth set. Neither team could grab the upper hand and the game was tied 13-13 halfway through the set. Anna Maria would reel off a 4-0 run to take a 17-13 advantage. Salem would get as close as 22-21 but Anna Maria closed out the match to post the 3-1 victory.

Anna Maria will start Great Northeast Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Rivier College for a tri-match with the Raiders and Saint Joseph's College (ME) starting at 1:00pm.