Volleyball Team Looks for Answers

Author: Dan Russell

After an encouraging step forward with a 3-1 victory against Plattsburgh State this past Tuesday, the Middlebury College volleyball team suffered two disappointing losses in the inaugural NESCAC Tournament held at Williams College last weekend. The team faced its first NESCAC competition on Friday in the form of Tufts University.

Against an experienced Tufts squad, the Panthers suffered defensive lapses in all three games that allowed the Jumbos to mount early leads. Though the team fought valiantly, the end result was disheartening as Middlebury was swept in three games by scores of 30-17, 30-26, and 30-22. There are encouraging signs, however, that indicate that the Panthers are becoming more and more comfortable with one another and growing into a cohesive unit. Captains Danielle Boniello '04 and Katy Hicks '05 were aggressive on offense and combined for 11 kills, while Sydney Hartsock '05 added nine. Junior Laurie Wollin had a strong offensive game with two service aces to go along with her 18 assists at the setter position, while Lacee Patterson '06 stepped up and made an immediate impact on the defensive end with eight digs, aided by senior Luz Brito who chipped in with seven.

The second game against Amherst was far more encouraging as the Panthers got an early lead on the Lord Jeffs in the first match and held it into the very late stages of the game. They were unable to hold on, finally falling by a score of 30-28. Their efforts would end up going unrewarded, as the physically drained Panthers were swept once again, losing the next two matches by scores of 30-13 and 30-17. The Panthers showed even more promise, however, as the very impressive Patterson once again made her presence known, this time on offense, with six kills, while Wollin contributed five. Hartsock added 11 assists. The Panthers were able to establish a strong defensive presence as well in this game as sophomore Jamie Wong '06 had 18 digs, while Hicks contributed two solo blocks and first-year Amy Heath '07 had four block assists.

The team will continue to improve as the players strive adjust to and understand their new roles and new positions, begin to grow comfortable with one another on court and understand and accept their new identity as a team. According to coach Sarah Raunecker, "It's just a matter of figuring out who's playing where. We have a lot of new people in key spots, but I feel like we're coming around. How well the kids work together will be the true test this season, and they're working really hard and improving all the time. We need to keep playing good competition."

Captain Boniello adds, "Against Amherst we started out strong, and I felt like we could have taken that much. We're getting to know each other's games and we've finally started to gel and establish a team dynamic."

Brito added, "We did a good job, but we have to do a better job. We didn't play to our potential. We have to keep fighting point-by-point. We encourage each other and give each other quite a bit of support on the court, but the chemistry is not quite there yet and we need more time to work things out." The Panthers will next play Union and then participate in the Amherst Classic held this coming weekend at Amherst.