AMHERST – The Amherst College volleyball team’s late surge wasn’t enough to overcome a slow start, falling to UMass Boston 3-1 Saturday afternoon in the finale of the Hall of Fame Invitational at LeFrak Gymnasium.

After dropping the first two sets, Amherst rallied back to win the third 25-14. In the fourth, however, it dropped a game-point opportunity leading 24-22, before eventually losing 27-25 courtesy of three straight kills by Beacons senior hitter Julia Murphy.

“I think it showed a lot of character, I think they did a nice job,” Amherst coach Sue Everden said of the comeback. “That’s a nice team. I think we could have beaten them, but you can’t get down two games to none against a team like that and hope to come back. We’re young in certain areas, but we’re getting better and that’s good.”

Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Hayes Honea, who had 22 digs, thought the third and fourth sets were a good indication of Amherst’s potential with only three game remaining before the conference tournament.

“I think the third set really gave us confidence in what we can do against teams like that,” said Honea. “Then in the fourth set, it was a heart-breaker. We had game point, but I’m still really proud of the way we were able to step up in those sets.”

The loss for Amherst (14-7, 5-3 NESCAC) snapped a four-game winning streak during which it swept all of its opponents. Saturday’s loss was also its fourth game in three days, and the second of the day after defeating SUNY Canton Saturday morning.

“I feel like we wanted, and needed, to play four games to get into a good rhythm after we lost a few matches,” said senior outside-hitter Maggie Danner. “I feel like we did that, we did some really good things this weekend so we’re all happy with it.”

Honea also thought the weekend was a plus for Amherst.

“It’s really helpful to get this in before (the conference tournament),” Honea said. “Next week we have three games as well, so we just have to keep going. Unlike other sports, we are able to play multiple games in a weekend. It’s fun, it’s helpful and its doable.”

Everden said she could see the fatigue staring to set in the first first two sets against the Beacons (22-3, 6-0 Little East Conference).

“They’re tired,” Everden said. “It’s kind of a shame this game wasn’t this morning, but the order was the same for them. It’s a little unfortunate, but we’ll take it. It was a good effort and I think it was a character builder.”

UMass-Boston won each of the first two sets 25-19, after late rallies in each proved to be the downfall for Amherst. The teams were tied at 15 and 13 apiece in the first and second set, respectably, before late runs by the Beacons.

Nicole Gould led Amherst with 14 kills, while Marialexa Natsis finished close behind with 13. Eileen Shi led UMass-Boston with a game-high 17 kills, with Murphy trailing behind with 12 of her own.

Saturday’s loss was also Amherst’s first at LeFrak this season, having won its previous eight games there.

Amherst has one final nonconference game with a Wednesday matchup against Springfield College. It wraps up the regular season next weekend against Trinity (Friday) and Wesleyan (Saturday).

“Our focus from here on out is to win every game, and hopefully we can get an NCAA bid,” Danner said. “Obviously we are hoping to win NESCAC’s too, so just keep pushing and playing competitively because we are in a good spot.”

Amherst 3, SUNY 0 – Amherst opened Saturday with a sweep of Canton in the middle game of the tournament.

The game against the Kangaroos featured back-and-forth play in the first two sets, which resulted in Amherst victories 25-23 and 25-22, respectively. Amherst cruised in the third, winning 25-13 after ending the frame on a 16-6 run.

Gould (12), Danner (11) and Natsis (10) all had double-digit kills for Amherst.

Andrew Cyr is a UMass journalism student and can be reached at andrewrcyr@gmail.com.