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Jaci Buscher
Jaci Buscher

No. 6 AIC Upends No. 3 Bentley in Northeast-10 Quarterfinals

WALTHAM, Mass. – Four days after the Bentley University Falcons posted a 3-1 victory at American International College, the AIC Yellow Jackets turned the tables and recorded a four-set win over the Falcons in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 Conference Women's Volleyball Championships Tuesday night at the Dana Center.

The 25-11, 25-15, 15-25, 25-10 victory sent sixth-seeded AIC (14-12) into Friday night's semifinals while leaving number three Bentley (18-10) wondering if they will be selected for the NCAA Division II Championships.

The trio of junior Naralija Dordevic (Belgrade, Serbia) and sophomores Mercy Rivera (Canovanas, P.R.) and Ayana Knowles (Chico, Calif.) combined for 40 kills and a .323 hitting percentage. That was a dozen more kills than Bentley had as a team.

Dordevic hit .419 with 16 kills, Rivera followed at .312 with 13 kills and 16 digs, and Knowles also registered a double-double (11 kills, 14 digs).

AIC's third double-double came from freshman Roxana Wenger (Giph-Oberfrick, Switzerland), who had 46 assists and ten digs.

Of the Yellow Jackets' 90 points in the match, 36 came as the result of Bentley errors, including 23 in the first two sets alone. There were 20 attack errors, nine reception errors, six serving miscues and a ball handling error.

Senior outside hitter Jaci Buscher (Lakewood, Colo./Rocky Mountain HS) led Bentley with 16 digs and 10 kills in her final home appearance. Included was her 300th kill of the season.

Junior Ashley Latimer (Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y./Croton-Harmon HS) hit .455 for the Falcons with seven kills, and senior libero Jessica Segal (West Harrison, N.Y./Harrison HS) matched Buscher in digs.

Eight teams will be selected for the NCAA East Regional on Monday evening and in last week's regional rankings, the Falcons were seventh.