SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Amherst College volleyball team continued their impressive play Saturday afternoon in a doubleheader at Western New England University, first downing the host Golden Bears, 3-0, before battling past Emerson, 3-2, in a nail-biter at AHLC Gym.
With the victories, the Mammoths improve to 3-0 on the season.
Amherst returns to the court next Friday, September 17 when they open their conference slate with an 8:00pm contest against Bates College at LeFrak Gymnasium.
MATCH ONE: Amherst 3, WNU 0
- The Mammoths took care of the Golden Bears in three straight sets, 25-18, 25-14, 25-14.
- Holding a 14-13 edge in the first set, Amherst broke away down the stretch to earn the 25-18 win, with a block and back-to-back kills by Sophie Launsbach '22 putting the visitors ahead by four and swinging momentum in favor of the Mammoths.
- A four-point push in midway through the second frame gave Amherst a 15-8 lead before a 5-1 run for the Mammoths that saw four WNE attack errors and a bad set closed out the 25-14 win.
- The third and final set featured Amherst jumping out to a 7-0 lead before the visitors put together two additional uncontested four-point runs to solidify the match sweep. Â
- Caroline Tilton '23 paced Amherst with team-highs in kills (12) and blocks (4), while Skyleur Savage '22 led all players in digs with 22. Carly Cooper '24 led the Mammoths in aces (3) and assists (16).
MATCH TWO: Amherst 3, Emerson 2
- Senior Jamie Dailey registered a team-high 21 kills and 23 points in the match, followed by Launsbach (19 kills, 21 points) and Tilton (12 kills, 13 points).
- Dishing out 31 helpers, Cooper led the team in assists for the third straight match, while junior Jacqueline Kortekaas' 22 assists was next best. Savage added a Mammoth-leading 22 digs in the 25-22, 17-25, 25-22,16-14 victory.
- As a team, Amherst combined to post a .204 hitting percentage behind 62 kills and six services aces.
