On November 22, the AIC women’s volleyball team beat Stone Hill at Bentley University, and advanced to the final against Bentley on November 23.

The Yellow Jackets were the second seed of the NE-10 conference, and were positioned to do well in the playoffs. They beat Franklin Pierce in the quarter finals in the Butova Gymnasium at American International College.

AIC took on Stone Hill, the seventh in the standings, for the semi-final at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts. The Yellow Jackets were up 2-0 when Stone Hill decided to change their game. Stone Hill won the third set.

With just three sets played, the Yellow Jackets wanted to win this game, so they would have to win the fourth set. They set up their starting six with more attacking players than defenders, and their plan worked. They won the fourth set and the game.

The semi-final was over after four intense sets of volleyball. AIC and Stone Hill each had a similar pattern and method of play. Andrea Serra took the final kill, which made it possible for the Yellow Jackets to win the semi-final and advance to the finals.

Andrea Serra shared some words after the semi-final game last Friday. “It feels amazing to still be here and still be in the NE 10 championship,” Serra said. “I think we deserve it as a team. We have been working to win the championship, and being blessed enough to get to the final is an incredible feeling.”

Serra thought that the final game would be a good match. She was excited because it gave the Yellow Jackets one more chance to prove themselves to their fans, “and everyone who supports us. Even Bentley’s fans. Bentley deserves to be in the final just as we do, but I hope we do not forget to not underestimate them.”

The final took place at Bentley University. Bentley was the first seed of the regular season, and AIC was the second seed.

The game was intense by the stands. The Yellow Jackets brought two entire fan buses to support the Yellow Jackets on their journey to the championship.

The Yellow Jackets started by winning the first two sets. AIC was clearly the better team in the first half of the game.

But volleyball can be tricky. Bentley came out flying in the second half by winning the two sets after half time.

The game was tied 2 to 2 and both teams were tired by the end of the fourth set. AIC came out extremely tired in the last and fifth set of the game and were down 8-0.

The team tried to pick it up. The Yellow Jackets made the set a close one, bringing it to 10-9 in the last 5 minutes of the game. But Bentley had the advantage, and the AIC defense did not work enough to make Bentley’s attack stop.

Bentley ended up winning the fifth set, 15-9. The Yellow Jackets had to pack their bags and go back to Springfield after an amazing season.

Even though the Yellow Jackets did not win the final and the championship, the team received many awards this year. Andrea Serra was recently awarded the NE 10 player of the year.

Giulia Alves felt down-trodden after the final game, and thought that the Yellow Jackets could have won. “After the game, I felt disappointed and sad,” Alves said. “We got into our own heads and we couldn’t bounce back. We made the match look tough because we kept doing the same mistakes over and over again, and we did not learn from them. Bentley saw it and took advantage of it, which is what a good team would do.”

The NE 10 first team included Naomi Eckert and Andrea Serra from AIC. Jana Potic made it to the second team, and Sarah Lowery made it to the third.