Amherst Sweeps Taconic

PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- The Taconic volleyball team went into Wednesday’s match knowing it had its work cut out against a strong Amherst side.

 

And the Hurricanes wasted no time proving the point.

 

Amherst jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first set en route to a 25-10, 25-11, 25-10 win.

 

Taconic coach Jen Doerle said she was disappointed in some of what she saw from her team but there were some positives, too.

 

“We worked really hard yesterday on passing, and I was hoping that was going to be a little bit better, and it was,” Doerle said. “We dug a few hard balls up and got some plays going.

 

“I’d really like to get the hitting going a little bit more.”

 

Throughout the match, Amherst was able to take advantage of what has been an Achilles heel for Taconic this fall: its serve receive.

 

Jordan Machowski notched an ace on her first serve of the first set to start a five-point run that gave the Hurricanes the 8-1 advantage. Later in the set, Nicole Lambert notched four aces in a nine-point run to get to set point.

 

In the second set, Mayouri Yath had five aces in an eight-point run to set up set point. And Delaney Macphetres closed out the match with an ace in the third.

 

“It’s been a sore point the whole season,” Doerle said. “So we’ve really got to work on that every day, and serving. … We’ve just got to work on the fundamentals and some basics a little bit more.”

 

Lisi Conroy led Taconic with three kills and two digs. Jaelynn Sistrunk had a pair of kills, and Victoria Tynan had four assists.

 

The closest Taconic came to getting into any set was a three-point run on Kacie Chadwell’s serve in the second to get within three points at 12-9. But Amherst got the serve back, Macphetres served to get the lead back to six points, and the Hurricanes never looked back.

 

Taconic can look forward to a couple of practice days to get ready for next week’s return to league play with trips to Lenox and Pittsfield on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.

 

"I think [overall], we're are a much better team than we were last year," Doerle said. "We seem a lot stronger. If we can just focus and stay together, I think we'll do alright against the county teams."