The Panthers managed to come away with a 1-1 split this weekend in their home matches against two of the top teams in the NESCAC. They decisively handled Amherst in four sets on Friday (25-20, 21-25, 25-17, 28-26), before succumbing to Williams in a nail-biter on Saturday that went the distance (21-25, 18-25, 27-25, 25-18, 12-15).
The Panthers knew they would be facing two well-rounded squads this weekend, as Amherst and Williams perennially provide staunch opposition. However, outside hitter Becca Raffel ’18 stressed the importance of staying focused on their own play and eliminating such distractions.
“We prepare for every team the same way,” she emphasized. “We don’t want to think about their overall standings. We just go into every game with the same mindset: we want to perform the best we can.”
Determined to avoid some of the slow starts that plagued the team earlier this year, Middlebury came out more than ready to play Friday night against the Lady Jeffs. Both teams displayed strong fundamental volleyball at the start, but the Panthers proved able to keep their focus while Amherst lost theirs; after forcing a timeout with a 13-8 lead, Middlebury took the next five points to go up 18-8. Not to be done away with so easily, Amherst battled back to 22-19 before two quick points from the Panthers captain, setter Hannah Blackburn ’17, brought the squad closer to finishing the set. They did so off a kill from Raffel, ending at 25-20.
In the second set, the teams stayed mostly even in the beginning, reaching equality at 8-8. Amherst tried to pull away, but Middlebury stuck around and even took the lead at 17-16 behind strong play from middle blocker Gabi Rosenfeld ’17 and outside hitter Isabel Sessions ’19. Unfortunately for the Panthers, Amherst took back control, gaining a 24-19 lead before closing out the set.
The Panthers rebounded in a big way in the third set, jumping out to an 8-3 lead on kills from Sessions, Raffel and middle blocker Sarah Staver ’19. The Panthers continued their domination, hitting their way to a 19-12 lead; not even the officiating crew was safe, as a hard Middlebury spike ricocheted up to hit the head line judge in the face when Amherst couldn’t control it. Middlebury then coasted to a 25-17 finish.
The real drama came in the fourth and final set. After Middlebury raced out to another 8-3 lead, the Jeffs clawed their way back into the match, finally catching the Panthers at 16-16 and taking a 20-19 lead shortly thereafter. Determined not to let one slip away, the Panthers arrived at match point, 24-21, behind a kill from Blackburn and two from Raffel. Amherst came back to knot the score at 24-24 and the teams traded the next four points before Sessions and Raffel put the Jeffs away for good, sealing the victory with a score of 28-26.
In Saturday’s contest against the Ephs, the Panthers’ old demons seemed to rear their heads once again, as the team got off to a slow start in each of the first two sets against a stout Williams team. On top of strong defensive play at the net from the Ephs, errors in communication and trivial penalties prevented Middlebury from gaining any momentum. For the first time in a while, the Panthers played like the young and inexperienced team they seemed to be on paper coming into this season.
Toward the end of each set, when Middlebury finally seemed to have settled down, it was too late to catch up: the Panthers dropped both, 21-25 and 18-25. However, Middlebury snapped out of that downward spiral in the third set. Raffel felt that the team came back out revitalized and ready to play how they knew they could.
“We completely changed our energy in the third set,” Raffel recalled. “In the first two we were a little flat and we realized that, if we just came out with a ton of energy, we could really change our game. So once we started celebrating every point, having a lot of fun, we definitely played better and performed.”
Strong all-around play — kills, blocks, digs — allowed the Panthers to jump out to a 13-6 lead. Of note were some incredible saves by defensive specialist Claire White-Dzuro ’19 that further energized the squad. Williams, however, would not go down so easily, fighting back to tie the set 19-19. What followed was some of the most exciting volleyball played by the Panthers this season: the two teams traded scoring, point for point, all the way up to 25-25, when Middlebury finally took the set off consecutive kills from Raffel and Sessions.
That momentum carried over into the fourth set, which Middlebury controlled from start to finish. Great facilitating from Blackburn and excellent hustle from outside hitter Charlotte Devine ’17 helped the Panthers secure a comfortable 25-18 victory and force a fifth and final set.
With the game on the line, though, the Ephs seemed to find an extra gear, fighting off the Panthers to take a 10-4 lead off the bat. Determined not to go quietly, the Panthers strung together five points on Rosenfeld’s serve to come back to within one. Falling once again to 13-10, two straight kills from Raffel kept Middlebury close. The Panthers ran out of steam as Williams took the final two points to close out the match, 15-12.
This weekend, Oct. 16-17, the Panthers take on Bates and Colby.
