ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Amherst College Volleyball team picked up their fifth straight victory, opening the Rochester Invitational with a 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 27-29, 25-17) win against SUNY Brockport on Friday night.
Amherst will face SUNY Geneseo and Buffalo State in a double-header in Rochester on Saturday.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
* In the first set of the evening, the two teams battled back and forth until the Mammoths took the lead 14-11 off of a kill by Lizzie Papalia. The Mammoths went on to score the next 9 out of 10 points to further their lead, 22-13. Kills from Sofia Camilo, Brielle Renwick, and Charlotte Rasmussen helped the Mammoths take control of the first set and, ultimately, a block and a kill by senior Kinsey Cronin brought the set to a close, 25-15.
* The second set was a battle. A service ace by Renee Liou tied the set at 10-10, but the Eagles strung together a series of points to take the lead, 16-13. The Mammoths fought back with a block by Cronin and a kill by Rasmussen. Another strong block from first-year Camilo pulled the Mammoths ahead. Rasmussen earned the final point of the set with a kill off of a pass from teammate Liou.
* The Eagles came out strong in the third set, taking a commanding lead, 7-2. The Mammoths made a strong comeback with a service ace from Zosia Teraszkiewicz tying the set 20-20 and kills by Rasmussen keeping the set alive, but SUNY Brockport stayed strong to win the set 29-27.
* The Mammoths began the forth and final set with an aggressive start with a service ace from Papalia and two kills from Anaya Thomas making the score 9-3. Attack errors from the Eagles and a kill from Ellie Myers continued the momentum. The Mammoths never trailed in the fourth set and came away with a score of 25-17 to win the set and the match.
BY THE NUMBERS:
* Anaya Thomas led the team with 12 kills on the night, earning a spot on the All-Tournament team.
* Renee Liou registered 70 assists over the two matches and also earned All-Tournament honors.
* Amherst registered 8 service aces and 52 digs over the four sets.
* Kinsey Cronin tallied 6 kills and 2 solo blocks.
