This past weekend the Middlebury volleyball team took a Massachusetts road trip to battle NESCAC foes Amherst and Williams on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 3 and 4, falling 3-1 in both matches.
On Friday night, the Panthers went into Amherst’s LeFrak Gymnasium to take on the formidable Lord Jeffs, owners of a 9-2 record overall including a 2-1 mark within the conference.
In the first set, the Panthers got off to a slow start, falling behind 7-0 before Hannah Blackburn ’17 assisted Olivia Kolodka ’15 for a kill that began a 25-9 Middlebury run. Another kill from Olivia Kolodka capped off the run for the Panthers with a win in the first set.
Amherst rallied in the next three sets, however, winning 25-20, 25-16 and 25-22, each of which was toughly contested.
A late Panther rally fell short at the end of the second set, and although they were able to pull within four points of the Jeffs, Amherst’s Asha Walker sealed it with a kill.
In game three the Panthers started hot, mustering a 5-1 lead before the hosts went on a fierce 18-7 run to put the set out of reach. The Panthers jumped out to a 4-1 lead in what would be the final set, and led by as many as six points at 16-10 before the momentum changed after a Panther service error.
Amherst also benefited from a key substitution in the set, putting junior Samantha Newby and sophomore Kate Bres in the game.
On the night, Olivia Kolodka led Panther attack with 13 kills and also had nine assists and 16 digs. Fellow senior Piper Underbrink ’15 contributed 11 kills, while Becca Raffel ’18 logged 10. Blackburn led all players with 41 assists to go along with her 15 digs, and Lizzy Reed ’15 had a team-high 20 digs.
The Panthers then made the 60-mile trek to Williamstown to take on the defending NESCAC champion Ephs of Williams, who entered the matchup in Chandler Gym with an impressive 12-1 record and with an eight-game winning streak.
Williams took the first set 25-17, but the second set belonged to the Panthers, who needed an extra point to close it out 26-24.
The third and fourth sets would go to the Ephs. A service ace by Williams junior setter Ryan Farley began a 15-1 run to open the third set.
The Panthers managed only a few side-outs before Williams broke twenty points, getting the score 20-6 en route to taking the third set by a score of 25-10. The fourth set would feature much of the same, with the Ephs charging ahead 4-0 on the heels of Raea Rasmussen’s outside kill and a serving streak provided by Amanda Schott. The Ephs won the last set handily, 25-12.
Raffel led the attack with 13 kills and Olivia Kolodka added seven more. Blackburn had 34 assists and 15 digs in the match, while Emily Kolodka ’18 added 16 digs. Reed had a team-high 17 digs in the contest.
The Panthers – who are now 4-7 overall on the season and 1-3 in NESCAC play –play host to Bowdoin at 8pm on Friday, Oct. 10 followed by a matchup with Colby at 2pm on Saturday, Oct. 11 in Pepin Gym.
The Polar Bears and Mules should provide a slight break for the Pantherse.
Sitting at 12-4 on the season and 4-2 within the conference, Bowdoin is coming off a weekend in which they were upset by Trinity. The Polar Bears are in need of a win in order to solidify their place among the NESCAC’s competitive teams in 2014.
Colby, meanwhile, has struggled to a 9-7 record so far this season, including a 1-4 mark in the NESCAC. Both the Panthers and Mules look to be teams who will have to pull together a string of late wins if they are going to qualify for the eight-team NESCAC championship tournament.
