Women's Volleyball

Author: Peter Baumann

Head Coach: Sarah Raunecker
Captains: Lexie Fisher '08, Olivia Minkhorst '09
Save the Date: Oct. 12, when Middlebury hosts its only quad of the year
Get it Stat: 40 - Percentage of the team's 2, 463 digs co-captains Fisher and Minkhorst accounted for.

A year after a 3-1 loss in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC championships to number-one seed Williams, the women's volleyball team will look to use its experience to make a deeper run in the NESCAC tournament. The majority of the major contributors from last year's 13-16 squad will return to the court and should contend in the always tightly-contested NESCAC.

On the attack, the Panthers will lean on co-captain and second team All-NESCAC selection Fisher, a senior right hitter who averaged 3.53 kills per game, good enough for sixth in the league. She is supported by outside hitter Kate Heath '09, who hopes to build on a sophomore campaign where she finish second on the team with 2.7 kills per game.

On defense, the Panthers are looking for co-captain Minkhorst to replicate an impressive sophomore season in which she posted 5.55 digs per game, which placed her third in the league. At the net, she will have help from Josie Keller '09, one of the team leaders last year with 1.02 blocks per game.

After going 3-1 in their first quad this past weekend, the Panthers jump into NESCAC play at Tufts this weekend. The Panthers host their own quad on the weekend of Oct. 12., right before the NESCAC tournament.

With a deep and experienced squad, look for the Panthers to make some noise in the NESCAC and improve on last year's impressive finish.