Box Score
AMHERST - Amherst College held on for a 3-1 (24-26, 25-14, 25-23, 25-20) victory over Westfield State University in opening night action of the Amherst Volleyball Classic on Friday, Sept. 24.
Amherst is now 7-1, and Westfield is 8-6.
Neither team could pull away in the back-and-forth first set, but it was the Owls who struck first with an impressive 26-24 win. The Jeffs had the visitors against the ropes at 24-22, but an un-returnable kill from Rachel Ryan, a service ace by Kayleigh Shea and a pair of miscues by Amherst gave Westfield the final four points of the set.
After dropping a set to Westfield for the first time in more than 10 years, Amherst responded by jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the second frame. The Owls scored three consecutive points but were countered by a 12-2 run, calling a timeout after the hosts took a 16-5 lead. Amherst pulled to within a point of victory after outstanding defensive plays by Rachel Yorke ’11 (Los Angeles, CA) and Abigail Hunter ’13 (Kentfield, CA), as the Jeffs came out on the winning end of a 25-14 result.
The Jeffs controlled the third set until some strong serving by Ryan cut Westfield’s deficit to two points at 19-17. A powerful kill by Hunter gave Amherst its 20th point and a much needed spark, as the hosts fended off the Owls’ comeback attempt and hung on for the 25-23 victory after Hyman provided the final point on a clutch kill.
In the fourth set Amherst broke a 14-14 tie by scoring the next seven points, as Mary Reiser ’12 (New York, NY) led the charge with a pair of kills and some strong play at the net. Westfield was unable to recover, giving the Jeffs the match with a 25-20 finish.
Leading the Owls were: Julia Warner (10 kills), Kerin DeGirolamo (34 assists, 14 digs), Alex Shaw (nine kills), and Rachel Ryan (13 kills, 17 digs).
