Volleyball Picks Up Two Wins against Suffolk, Eastern Nazarene at Home Tri-Match

PAXTON, Mass.—The Anna Maria College volleyball team picked up two 3-0 wins in home tri-match action with Suffolk University and Eastern Nazarene College on Saturday afternoon. In the neutral match, the Rams downed Eastern Nazarene 3-0.

With today's results, the AMCATS improve to 11-9 overall and 2-4 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.  Anna Maria also ties their program record for wins in a season following today's two victories.

The Rams are now 7-14 overall and 2-3 in GNAC play, while Eastern Nazarene falls to 2-17.

Anna Maria 3, Suffolk 0

The AMCATS downed the Rams 3-0 by scores of 25-15, 25-20, and 25-17. Junior Brianna LaRegina (Troy, N.Y.) paced the team with a match-high nine kills, while freshman Rebecca Foti (Bedford, N.H.) and senior Jacqueline Clinton (Walpole, Mass.) both finished with five kills. Junior setter Samantha Parker (Athol, Mass.) dished out a match-high 26 assists.

Defensively, Foti and junior libero Brittany Jackson (Larchmont, N.Y.) both finished with 14 digs. Junior Jessica Goulet (Lawrence, Mass.) totaled four blocks on the day.

The Rams were led offensively by Yabriela Perez (Dorchester, Mass.) with seven kills. Freshman Krista Iacobucci (Rocky Hill, Conn.) added six kills, while setter Glamarys Sierra (Carolina, Puerto Rico) dished out 14 assists.

Perez and Katie Matatall (Danville, N.H.) both totaled a match-high 15 digs.

The AMCATS totaled 32 kills with 15 errors in 108 attempts for an overall hitting percentage of .157. The Rams totaled 17 kills and 26 errors in 106 attempts to record a negative hitting percentage.

Suffolk 3, Eastern Nazarene 0

The Rams and the Lions battled in three close games, but the Rams were victorious in all three by scores of 26-24, 25-20, and 25-22.

The Rams were led by a double-double by Iacobucci with 11 kills and 13 digs. She was the lone Ram to net reach double-figures in the kills column, but four of her teammates surpassed 10 digs, including Sierra and Perez, who both finished with an impressive 21 digs. Matatall chipped in with 15.

Kortney Jenkins (Bunker Hill, W.Va.) led the Lions with a double-double of her own, tallying a match-high 20 kills in addition to 17 digs.  Laurel Burger (Laurel, Del.) dished out 31 assists in the loss.

The Rams totaled a .109 hitting percentage in the win, while the Lions finished the match with a .064 hitting percentage.

Anna Maria 3, Eastern Nazarene 0

In the final match of the day, the AMCATS took down the Lions by scores of 25-20, 25-15, and 25-19. Goulet had a big match at the net, totaling team-highs in kills with 10 and blocks with six.

Goulet was crucial late in the third set, as she scored three-straight points on blocks for the AMCATS to stifle a Lion come-back attempt.

LaRegina added seven kills and 10 digs for Anna Maria, while Foti chipped in with six kills and 10 digs. Parker recorded a double-double of 25 assists and 16 digs. The AMCATS were successful on 63 percent of side-out attempts (36-57).

Eastern Nazarene saw a team-best eight kills from Jenkins. Joanna Joseph (Brockton, Mass.) added five kills and two blocks, while Berger finished with a team-best 12 digs.

Anna Maria totaled a .200 hitting percentage on the strength of 34 kills with just 13 errors. Eastern Nazarene finished the match with 21 kills and 26 errors for a negative hitting percentage.

The AMCATS will be back in action on Tuesday, October 14^th when they travel to the University of St. Joseph for a 7:00 p.m. GNAC match. The team will host Worcester State on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.