Volleyball sweeps the week

Women’s volleyball improved their season record to 11-3 after an impressive three-win week. After traveling to nearby Colby-Sawyer earlier last week, the team made the long trek to Lewiston, Me. on Friday to take on both Bates and Colby College. The Panthers rebounded from a disappointing previous weekend to defeat all three opponents on their own turf, losing only two sets over the course of the entire week. After trouncing two NESCAC rivals, Middlebury improved its conference record to an unblemished 3-0.

On the road against Colby-Sawyer, Middlebury fell behind 16-25 in the first set before bouncing back to win the next three sets. Elissa Goeke ’12 and Megan Jarchow ’14 led the offense, while Caitlin Barrett ’13 earned 17 digs during the game.

In Maine this past weekend, the Panthers took on Colby’s Mules Friday night before challenging the host school Saturday afternoon. The team first beat Colby 3-1, and the next day Middlebury polished off the week with a 3-0 victory against Bates. After the long bus ride Friday afternoon, the Panthers started off somewhat sluggish. Although they managed to win the first set, they dropped the second set before picking it up for the third and fourth sets. The fourth set was particularly decisive, with Middlebury owning its competitors across the net, winning by a dominating score of 25-12 to end the game. While many players had impressive stats, sophomore Julia Gibbs ’13 had an especially noteworthy performance with 11 kills, 16 digs and three aces.

“We played well in the end but we should’ve beaten them in three sets,” said co-captain Jane Handel ’12. “We let them get points they shouldn’t have.”

“We didn’t come out strong at first and should’ve taken more control,” concurred Goeke.

Saturday’s game against Bates was a different story, yet ended with the same victorious result. Unlike the slow start on Friday, the Panthers came out ready to play against Bates. They won in three straight sets and never allowed Bates to score more than 14 points in a single set. The team finished the weekend with two crucial NESCAC victories and returned home proud of their results.

“Lots of people got a chance to play and we played really well,” said Caroline Cordle ’12. “We really ran our offense well on Saturday,” added Handel.

Following this impressive week, the Panthers return to Pepin Gymnasium this weekend for another NESCAC showdown over Fall Family Weekend. Friday night features Middlebury vs. Bowdoin at 6 p.m., and Saturday at 1:30 p.m. the Panthers will take on the Tufts Jumbos –– two of the toughest teams they play this season. These three teams all come into this weekend undefeated in conference play, and the results will go a long way in determining the conference champion at the season’s end. The weekend figures to see the pretenders separated from the contenders in NESCAC volleyball.