PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Amherst College volleyball team rallied to defeat the United States Coast Guard Academy in five sets, then swept host Johnson and Wales University in three sets on Saturday at Wildcat Center.

Amherst improved to 3-0 on the season. Up next for the Mammoths is Mount Holyoke College, on the road in South Hadley Tuesday, September 10 at 7 p.m.

After dropping the first two sets against the Coast Guard Academy, the Mammoths rallied to win the next three sets and went 21-25, 26-28, 25-21, 29-27, and 15-9 to win the match. Later that afternoon, the Mammoths swept JWU in straight sets.

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS vs US COAST GUARD ACADEMY:

* The Bears jumped to an early lead in the match, winning the first two sets, but after the first point of the third set, the Mammoths never trailed and held on to continue the match. A block by Renee Liou and Kinsey Cronin to win the eighth point got some momentum for the Mammoths as they proceeded to score six straight points. CGA rallied to bring the score to 22-21, but the Mammoths held on to win the match with a final kill from Charlotte Rasmussen. 

* In the fourth set, the two teams went back and forth the whole set. A service ace from sophomore Allie McLaughlin and blocks from Chideraa Ngwadom and Sofia Camilo helped the Mammoths stay in the game. The Mammoths and the Bears rallied, but Lizzie Papalia set up Liou perfectly for a kill to win the set, 29-27.

* The Mammoths came out strong in the final set. Four straight kills by the Mammoths lifted them to a 10-7 lead. Liou and Rasmussen teamed up to earn the final three points, with Liou earning a service ace and assisting Rasmussen with two kills.

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS vs JWU

* The Mammoths got off to a strong start against JWU as two bad sets from the Wildcats and two consecutive kills from McLaughlin lifted the Mammoths to a 6-2 lead. Four more kills from McLaughlin, and a shared block from Rasmussen and Tiana Richardson helped the Mammoths to maintain their lead. The set concluded off of an attack error by the Wildcats.

* In the second set, the Wildcats pulled out a 6-1 lead but kills from McLaughlin and Sofia Camilo led the Mammoths to tie the set 9-9. The two teams continued to go back and forth with a pair of kills from Kinsey Cronin and a kill from Zosia Teraszkiewicz keeping the Mammoths in the game. A service ace from Teraszkiewicz and a service error from the Wildcats helped the Mammoths finish the set 25-23.

*The Mammoths and the Wildcats traded points through the start of the third set, but a shared block by Teraszkiewicz and Abby Nichols and a service ace from Teraszkiewicz got some momentum going for the Mammoths. A pair of kills from Ellie Myers brought the Mammoths to a 23-19 lead, and a block by Nichols ended the set and the match, 25-23. 

BY THE NUMBERS

* Rasmussen led the Mammoths with 18 kills in the win against the Bears. Camilo recorded 16 kills and 6 block assists in the first match.

* Liou recorded 78 assists on the day, and Papalia tallied 45 digs on the day. 

* McLaughlin totaled 20 kills, 5 aces, and 30 digs on the day.