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(01/24/13 1:07am)
This past weekend, Jan. 18 and 19, the Middlebury women’s ice hockey team traveled up to Maine for a doubleheader against Bowdoin, splitting the two-game set against the host Polar Bears.
The first game, on Friday night, was a challenge for Middlebury. They failed to put the puck in the back of the net, suffering a 3-0 loss. The following day, however, the Panthers left the ice as victors, beating the Polar bears 4-2.
“We were disappointed with the outcome of the first game and had trouble putting the puck in the net,” said forward Katie Mandigo ’16. “But Saturday we came ready to battle and delivered.”
The Polar Bears took control of the game early, scoring one goal in each period and keeping a lead over the Panthers for all 60 minutes of the game.
Bowdoin incurred twice as many penalties as Middlebury, and the Panthers outshot their opponent 33 to 23 in the game. Goalkeeper Annabelle Jones ’15 had a strong game with 20 total saves, recording nine in the second period alone.
The win extended the seventh-seed Polar Bears’ winning streak to 14 games. Fourth-seed Middlebury’s eight-game winning streak comes to a halt with the loss.
“Bowdoin pushed us to play a full 60 minutes and we learned a lot about our potential as a team,” said defender Julia Wardwell ’16.
On Saturday Bowdoin’s winning streak came to an end, as the guest team tapped in four goals en route to a 4-2 win.
In the first period, the two teams traded possession of the puck, and neither team was able to put points on the board.
In the second period, however, the Panthers tapped in two goals — one from Lauren Greer ’13 and the other from Emily Fluke ’15 — to help themselves to the lead and finish out the period on top, despite Bowdoin’s goal as time expired on the second period.
Middlebury scored two more goals in the third period to Bowdoin’s one. The first, from Fluke on an assist from Jennifer Krakower ’14 and Heather Morrison ’13, gave the Panthers the lead before Hannah Bielawski ’15 netted her first of the game to run the final score to 4-2.
Middlebury outshot Bowdoin 31-22 in the game, which saw only two penalties called in total.
The Panthers now own a 10-2-2 record (7-1-2 in the NESCAC), while Bowdoin moves to 13-2-1 (7-1-0 in NESCAC).
This coming weekend, the Panthers play host to the Continentals from Hamilton on both Friday and Saturday, Jan. 25 and 26. Hamilton sits at fourth place in the conference standings with a NESCAC record of 4-3-1.
“Every NESCAC game is tough and important to win in order to move NESCACs here to Middlebury,” said Julia Wardwell ’16.
(01/17/13 3:07am)
After a quick winter break, the Middlebury women’s ice hockey team came back to campus to take on Utica and Wesleyan. Even without students in the stands the Panthers still captured the victory against both opponents to end the holiday with a 7-1-1 record.
“Coming back from break we were all very excited to be back together and to begin preparing for a big three game week,” said senior tri-captain Maggie Woodward ’13. “With everyone refreshed and excited to be back on the ice, we had a great week of practices and by Wednesday we were eager to start playing games again.”
This past weekend, the team played Amherst at home back-to-back Friday and Saturday night, Jan. 11 and 12. A tie in the first match did not hold the girls back from taking home the victory after the second match, winning 5-2 on Saturday. The squad now holds a 9-1-2 record with four more NESCAC teams to play and 12 more games before the NESCAC quarterfinals.
The game on Friday was a tough tie for the Panthers, considering that Middlebury was ahead by one goal until the last 31 seconds of the game. The Panthers held a 21-13 shot advantage over Amherst in the first two periods and controlled the puck throughout. However, the Jeffs took back some of that control in the third period, beating out the home team with a 10-5 shot advantage.
The Jeffs also racked up four penalties throughout the game, totaling eight minutes of power play advantage for Middlebury. Middlebury’s only goal was scored by Katie Sullivan ’15 with an assist by Emily Fluke ’15.
“We felt like we left something out on the ice after Friday’s game against Amherst,” said senior tri-captain Madison Styrbicki. “We knew we played pretty well Friday night, but at the end of the game we couldn’t help but feel a little unsatisfied. We felt like we’d left too many goals out on the ice,” added Woodward.
Saturday’s game, however, went much better for the Panthers, as the team beat Amherst 5-2 in regulation time. The first three goals of the game for Middlebury were scored in the first period, setting a tone and a pace which the Amherst team could not match. Senior Lauren Greer ’13 popped in the first two goals for the home team with assists from Sarah Ugalde ’14 and Woodward. The third goal of the first period was scored by Sullivan and assisted by Styrbicki and Hannah Bielawski ’15. The Panthers kept the lead and put one more point on the board in the second with a goal by Styrbicki and assists from Bielawski and Greer.
In the third period, however, the Jeffs came back with two goals to Middlebury’s one to conclude the game with a 5-2 score. Heather Marrison ’13 notched the final goal for the home team and was assisted by Styrbicki. Middlebury outshot Amherst 35-28, with goalie Annabelle Jones ’15 making an impressive 26 saves in the game.
“I think we all came back Saturday ready to play with a little extra edge and to battle for a full 60 minutes,” said Woodward. “Playing Amherst at home is always a high energy statement game and I think we brought a little more energy and were hungry to bury a few more lose pucks on Saturday afternoon. It felt good to be able to compete a little harder on Saturday and come away from the weekend with three points against a pretty good team.”
The fourth-ranked Panthers will compete on the road at Bowdoin next Friday and Saturday, Jan. 18 and 19. The team’s current 9-1-2 record, 6-0-2 in the NESCAC, gives them a comfortable spot in both the league and the national rankings going into the end of the season.
“We take every game individually and by coming out with a win for each day really helps us in our success,” said Madeline Joyce ’14. “We have a saying on our team to ‘be 1-0 at the end of the day; We have very high goals and expectations for the end of the season and if we take each game as it comes I am very confident about our team’s potential.”
(12/05/12 6:23pm)
The Middlebury women’s ice hockey team began the month of December with a win and a tie on Saturday, Dec. 2 and Sunday, Dec. 3 against Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. The first game on Saturday ended in a 1-1 tie after both teams failed to convert in overtime. The next day, however, the Panthers rebounded with a 4-1 win. After the weekend, the team holds a 4-1-1 record with one more game remaining before Christmas break.
The first match-up against Trinity ended in a tie, even though Middlebury outshot Trinity 45-21.
Middlebury held a 1-0 lead throughout the entire game after Molly Downey ’13 scored with 3:42 left in the first period.
Trinity, however, came back to tie the game with 12:14 left in the third period and Middlebury, unfortunately, couldn’t get one of its 21 shots in for a goal to end the game in regulation time.
After five minutes of scoreless overtime, the game concluded in a tie.
During the game Middlebury was penalized four times for a total of eight minutes on the penalty kill, while Trinity drew six penalties, giving up 12 minutes of power-play time for the Panthers.
Emily Fluke ’15 and Hannah Bielawski ’15 assisted Downey’s goal in the first period. Annabelle Jones ’15 had a successful game with a total of 20 saves: nine in the first period, six in the second, three in the third and two in overtime, with only the one goal against.
The game on Sunday against the Bantams concluded much more favorably for the Panthers. The 4-1 loss was Trinity’s first of the season, forcing them to a 2-1-2 record overall and a 1-1-2 record in the NESCAC. The Bantams failed to score on multiple opportunities despite the fact that they outshot Middlebury 35-28.
The Panthers set the tone for the game from the moment they stepped on the ice, with MacKenzie Martin ’15 scoring a goal in the first 1:15 of the game. Also in the first period, Katie Mandigo ’16 scored her first career goal on a power play at the 8:44 mark. Bielawski then scored her fifth goal of the year at 13:19. At the 15:00 mark in the second period, Downey added one more point to the board, making the score 4-0 until Trinity tapped one in at 18:26 to end the second period 4-1.
The last 20 minutes of the game in the third period remained scoreless.
Assists were awarded to Madeline Joyce ’14 for the first goal, Jennifer Krakower ’14 and Bielawski for the second, Krakower and Katie Sullivan ’15 for the third tally, and Fluke for the final.
Laura Pinsent ’14 had an outstanding game in goal, finishing with a total of 34 saves: 12 in the first period, 12 in the second and 10 in the third.
“The difference between Saturday and Sunday’s games was capitalizing on chances,” said Madison Styrbicki ’13. “We outshot Trinity by a lot on Saturday, but couldn’t get the puck past their goalie. [Coach Bill Mandigo] shaped our mentality to believed that Trinity had taken something from us the night before, and we had to prove that we were better than them.”
The Panthers are currently ranked fourth in the country, and hold a 3-0-1 record overall in the NESCAC.
The team plays next on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. against Castleton State in the final game of the semester.
After nine consecutive losing seasons, the Spartans enter the contest with a 5-2-1 record and have improved their win total each of the last three seasons. Second-year head coach Bill Bowers has a much-improved team, which has already matched the win total from four of the last six seasons.
“Over break, it’s a chance for the team to relax at home and regroup,” said Styrbicki. “While we will continue to work out, being away from the team and on-ice competition ignites a sense of hunger for when we come back late December. We always come back from break with a revived sense of excitement.”
The Panthers will return with three games in four days, traveling to Utica in their first competition of the new year before returning home to host Wesleyan Jan. 4 and 5, when the NESCAC schedule beings in earnest.
(11/28/12 7:06pm)
Coming off a 21-4-3 record, a NESCAC championship and a trip to the NCAA quarterfinals, the Middlebury women’s ice hockey team opened the season with a pair of games against Colby Nov. 16 and 17, and the Panther/Cardinal Classic tournament this past weekend, Nov. 24 and 25. After its first four games, the squad currently stands with a record of 3-1; converting with two wins against Colby, one against Elmira and a loss in the Panther/Cardinal Classic final against Plattsburgh.
Against Elmira this past Saturday, the Panthers brought home an overtime victory after a tough battle. The game was a constant back and forth effort by both teams.
Middlebury took the lead in the first four minutes of the game after a steal and goal from Lauren Greer ’13. But, the Soaring Eagles came back strong and had a goal at the end of the first period to carry a tie going into the second period.
After multiple power plays and penalties from both teams, regulation time finished in a 3-3 tie, sending the two teams into overtime. To Middlebury’s advantage, they entered overtime with a 53-second power play, in which Hannah Bielawski ’15 fought in the crease and tapped in a goal to clinch it at 4-3. Not only did Middlebury win on the scoreboard, but outmatched thier opponents on the stat sheet. Middlebury had 32 shots on goal, overshooting Elmira by 11 shots, and only four penalties compared to Elmira’s nine. Tri-captain Heather Marrison ’13 also tallied for the Panthers against Elmira.
The following morning, Nov. 25, the squad took on Plattsburgh State at Kenyon Arena in the tournament final. Plattsburgh played consistently throughout the whole game, scoring one goal in each period. Middlebury, on the other hand, had trouble converting their chances, especially considering the fact that they held a 31-18-shot advantage over the Cardinals. Plattsburgh took a 2-0 lead in the second period, which was quickly neutralized by Middlebury who scored two goals in the period to tie the game 2-2.
In the third period, the Panthers took ample shots, but couldn’t connect on a goal. Middlebury also slipped on defense with just enough time for Plattsburgh to score one last goal to win the game at the 11:50 mark. Bielawski and Emily Fluke ’15 helped to keep their team in the game by tallying one goal each.
Fresh off the field hockey turf, Greer commented on her team’s performance.
“Having the Panther Cardinal Classic this early in the season was also a good chance to play some of the best teams in the country and see how we compete with them,” said Greer. “And this weekend we did.”
Following the tournament, Most Valuable Player honors were awarded to Middlebury’s sophomore forwards Fluke and Katie Sullivan ’15.
The previous weekend, Nov. 16 and 17, Middlebury handled Colby College in both games to start the NESCAC campaign 2-0.
The first game, on Saturday, saw Colby rack up six penalties in an aggressive contest. A combined total of 12 minutes throughout the game gave Middlebury multiple opportunities to score on the power play. After converting many of those chances, Middlebury came out on top with a 3-2 win.
Saturday morning was a far different game. The Panthers handled the Mules, making their fans proud for the second day in a row, by beating Colby 5-1.
Throughout the weekend Panther goals were scored by Bielawski, Fluke, Madeline Joyce ’14, Sara Ugalde ’14, Greer, Sullivan and Carly Schaeder ’16.
Next weekend the women’s ice hockey team will travel to Trinity College to play back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 1 and 2.
Greer is looking forward to this weekend’s match ups.
“This weekend against Trinity will be a major opportunity for our team to respond, and regain a rhythm against another good NESCAC team,” says Greer. “We always have a rivalry with Amherst, but I also consider Trinity as a major factor in our competitive schedule. Every NESCAC game is important, especially now that we play them back to back.”
(11/15/12 12:32am)
After beating Trinity, Bowdoin and Connecticut College to win the NESCAC Championship last weekend, the Middlebury volleyball team defeated Southern Vermont College 3-1 in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament on Friday night, Nov. 9. The Panthers could not advance out of the regional round on Saturday, however, as Clarkson ended Middlebury’s season by the same score.
Despite the second-round exit, the campaign was a resounding success for the Panthers, recipients of their fourth conference title.
“The championship was a total team effort with everyone contributing to the wins,” said outside hitter Meg Anderson ’14.
The Panthers’ first-round opponent, Southern Vermont College, entered the tournament with a 24-7 record in comparison Middlebury’s 23-6. The two teams were evenly matched, and it took Middlebury four sets to take down Southern Vermont and take home the final victory (21-25, 21-25, 25-21, 22-25).
Middlebury’s defense was unstoppable in the first two sets, putting intense pressure on the Southern Vermont offense and denying them multiple opportunities to put points on the board.
In the third set, however, the Mountaineers took over and won the set by four points. Southern Vermont senior Jessica Alvarez led her team by contributing 21 kills and totaling a .343 hitting percentage in the game. After letting one set go, however, the Panthers came back to claim the fourth set and seal the victory.
Kathryn Haderlein ’16 led the offense with a productive 52 assists and nine digs, while tri-captain Caitlin Barrett ’13 steered the Panthers to success with a team-high of 15 digs. Piper Underbrink ’15 finished the first round of the NCAA tournament making a statement with a .444 hitting percentage and four blocks to go along with it. The 3-1 win advanced the team to the second round of the NCAA tournament, against the host squad, third-seeded Clarkson University.
The game on Saturday also finished 3-1, but this time the result was not in favor of the Panthers, who dropped three straight sets after winning the first. Middlebury saw their season come to an end after the tough four-set match (21-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-18.)
Middlebury took immediate control from the start of the first set, keeping the lead the entire set and finally winning by four points with assistance from Lizzy Reed’s ’15 and Haderlein’s aces. In the next couple of sets Middlebury trailed behind Clarkson by a few points and in all situations the lead got the best of them and kept the Panthers from grasping a win in any of the last three sets.
“A few of the Clarkson hitters got hot hands in the last three games and we couldn’t get a good block on them,” Barrett said. “The first game we came out really agressively and played really well. We made a few unforced errors in the last three games and that kind of changed things around.”
Although the team did not leave the court as victors, they still had some notable moments from the match. Amy Hart ’14 had 15 kills and digs, while tri-captain Megan Jarchow ’14 also reached 11 kills and a trio of block assists. Haderlein had another remarkable game with 35 assists.
Middlebury finishes their season with an impressive 23-7 record, improving from last season’s mark of 23-9. Led by tri-captains Barrett, Madeline Firestone ’13, and Jarchow, the 2012 Middlebury volleyball team — and the graduating senior class, in particular — has a lot to be proud of as they hang up their jerseys, leaving the program considerably stronger than when they arrived.
“Looking back on things, it’s really cool to see how far the program has come since my first year,” said Barrett. “As a senior class we went our first years to NESCACs just happy to be there and hoping we could make a run. And now the past two or three years we go to the NESCAC Tournament expecting to win and hoping to go as far as we can in the NCAA Tournament. It’s really cool to see each recruiting class is stronger and stronger and that’s awesome for the program.”
(11/08/12 12:00am)
The Middlebury women’s volleyball team celebrated their fourth NESCAC Championship on Sunday after winning three games in a span of three days to clinch the title. The Panthers played Trinity on Friday, Bowdoin on Saturday and Connecticut College in the finals on Sunday. The final victory marked the program’s second championship in the past three years, and their fourth in 14 years, having won in 1997, 1998 and 2010.
The team finishes their first post-season tournament with a strong 22-6 record, guaranteeing them a spot in the NCAA tournament beginning this Friday with a match against Southern Vermont.
The top eight teams that were competing in the NESCAC Championship were first-ranked Connecticut College, followed in ranked order by Middlebury, Bowdoin, Amherst, Williams, Tufts, Trinity and Colby.
Middlebury started off the tournament playing Trinity College in the quarterfinals. The game confirmed the league seeding, as second-ranked Middlebury defeated the seventh-seeded Trinity College in a 3-0 match. Although the score of the game suggests an easy victory, Trinity performed well and lost all three sets by a narrow margin (24-26, 22-25, 18-25). The first set was the closest out of all three, but the Middlebury victory was confirmed when Megan Jarchow ’14 had a kill and captured the set when a Trinity attack went wide.
Trinity began the second set with a 6-2 lead, but the Panthers quickly bounced back to keep the set close. Maddie Firestone ’13 finished it off with a violent kill. The home team controlled the last set of the match, and the lead never fell below four points after the first two points of the set. Jarchow finished the with 10 kills while Julia Gibbs ’13 led the way with 11.
Kathryn Haderlein ’16 had a wonderful debut in the NESCAC tournament, dishing out 31 assists and taking 13 digs, while senior libero and tri-captain Caitlin Barrett ’13 led the team with 14 digs.
The following day the Panthers headed into the semi-final match against Bowdoin.
“We knew that we would likely face a rematch against Bowdoin in the semifinals,” said Meg Anderson ’14. After beating Bowdoin a week earlier in the second-to-last regular season game, the squad anticipated a tough contest.
“It’s always harder to beat a team the second time around,” Anderson continued. “We came out strong and even though we lost a little momentum in the second and third sets, we pulled out a close fourth set win and dominated the fifth set.”
It took Middlebury five sets to win the game (21-25, 25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 6-15). Bowdoin came out tougher and far more competitive than they did the previous week when Middlebury beat them in just four sets that were not nearly as close in points.
Jarchow led the offensive attack with 13 kills, while Gibbs trailed close behind her with 10. Piper Underbrink ’15 and Amy Hart ’14 also piled up a mass of kills with seven and six respectively. The Panthers dominated the team count of collective digs, with Gibbs and Barrett leading the pack with a combined total of 43 digs. Other notable contributions included Sarah Studwell’s ’13 five service aces and Firestone and Jarchow’s 2.5 blocks.
The win over the Polar Bears meant that the Middlebury women’s volleyball team advanced into the finals of the NESCAC Championship. On Sunday they suited up for the final game of the weekend to play number-one ranked Connecticut College.
The match ended as a 3-0 shutout after a 25-20 first set, a 25-17 second set and a 25-23 final set. After taking a 25-20 decision in the first set, the visiting squad took a huge lead in the second set with the help of one of Haderlein’s many kills.
Later in the set, Hart helped the team to keep the advantage with kills on the left side. Jarchow finally closed out the set with the final game-winning kill.
The Camels held a three-point advantage in the third set of the game, until two kills from Jarchow on successive points put the Panthers back on top. She sealed the victory when she joined forces with Underbrink for a final block to win the game.
“The championship was a total team effort with everyone contributing to the wins. Now we have the week to prepare for NCAAs,” said Anderson.
The victory not only advanced the Panthers to the NCAA tournament, but it also snapped the Camels’ 14-game winning streak, ending their season with a 24-3 record.
Senior tri-captain Caitlin Barrett ’13 was named NESCAC Player of the Week. As libero of the team, she anchored the back row with 5.27 digs per set over three matches, and simultaneously picked up three service aces. This past weekend Barrett totaled 23 digs in the game against Connecticut College and had 21 digs in the five-set win over Bowdoin on Saturday.
(10/31/12 8:41pm)
The women’s volleyball team finished its regular season with two wins this weekend after a long week of practice leading up to two games against NESCAC rivals Bowdoin and Tufts. Middlebury wrapped up the regular season with a 19-6 record, securing the second seed in the NESCAC tournament with the win over Bowdoin.
“We knew going in to this weekend that NESCAC seedings were dependent on how we played,” said s Olivia Kolodka ’15. “We tried to focus on our own team goals instead of the circumstances surrounding the match.”
The game against Bowdoin on Friday, Oct. 26 began with a powerful national anthem performance by middle hitter Piper Underbrink 15’s mother, country singer Melanie Rosales. The performance added to the immense energy roaring in the Pepin Gymnasium crowd.
“You could tell the number of fans and the live national anthem pumped the team up and got them excited for the tough game,” said Ellie O’Brien ’14 who attended the game.
The home squad started out the first set on fire maintaining a consistent lead throughout, attesting to O’Brien’s comment.
The first set ended quickly with a decisive 25-13 win for the Panthers. The second set proved to be more of a challenge, however, and Bowdoin eventually won the set 19-25. Middlebury won the last two sets (25-21, 26-24) winning the match 3-1.
Megan Jarchow’s ‘14 spikes dominated the game with a match-high 13 kills, while Caitlin Barrett ’13’s 17 digs saved the team from multiple powerful shots from Bowdoin’s talented front hitters. Barrett’s passion for the team was infectious and apparent in her play as she threw her body left and right to save shot after shot.
The Panthers second win of the weekend occurred Saturday, Oct. 27 at home against Tufts. The squad shut down the Jumbos 3-0, clinching the NESCAC’s second seed. Tufts gave Middlebury a challenging first set that the Panthers eventually won 25-21. After a comfortable second set, which Middlebury won 25-13, the Panthers completed the sweep with a narrower 25-20 victory in the third and final set. Amy Hart ’14 and Julia Gibbs ’13 had outstanding games with nine and eight kills, respectively. Gibbs also impressed the crowd with 12 assists.
The Panthers will now prepare for the NESCAC tournament and the beginning of postseason play. They will take on Trinity in the quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 2 at Connecticut College.
The Panthers defeated the Bantams in straight sets on Oct. 13, a match in which Hart and Jarchow lead a stellar offensive attack. Hart recorded 16 kills, while Jarchow chipped in with 13 of her own.
Trinity has played at an even .500 (3-3) since its encounter with the Panthers. Middlebury, on the other hand, has found its stride, going 5-1 over the past three weeks leading up to postseason play.
Kolodka and the rest of the team bring a focused mentality into this weekend’s NESCAC contest.
“As a team we try and approach every match as an opportunity to play the best we can regardless of who is on the other side of the net,” said Kolodka. “Teams can play up or play down on any given day, and expecting a team to roll over can lead to a lack of mental discipline and a lot of unforced errors. We will get ready for our game against Trinity the same way we do for every game — by working as hard as we can and looking to play our best.”
Connecticut College, Bowdoin and Amherst round out the rest of the formidable top-four seeds in a tournament that will be hard to predict. All eight teams involved finished the regular season at .500 or above. A champion will be crowned on Sunday.
(10/25/12 12:55am)
The Middlebury women’s volleyball team has made some serious headway since students were let out for fall break. While out-of-season athletes were enjoying their time off, the Panthers were working hard in practice in preparation for four games in a four-day period. The Panthers came out strong with three wins against Plymouth State, Wellesley College and Brandeis University before finishing with a tight loss against Springfield. The team now stands 11 games over .500 with a 17-6 record going into its last two regular season games.
Wednesday, Oct. 17, the Panthers outworked Plymouth State, who fell 11-15 in the loss, in all three sets to close with a 3-0 shutout, winning the three sets 25-9, 25-15 25-19, respectively. Tri-captain Megan Jarchow ’14 stood out in that game with 10 kills, tallying a .421 hitting percentage. Piper Underbrink ’15 and Amy Hart ’14 also contributed 5 kills each.
Friday, Oct. 19 and Saturday, Oct. 20, Smith College and Mount Holyoke hosted the Hall of Fame Invitational. The Panthers matched up against Wellesley to start the tournament, sweeping the Blue 3-0. Wellesley entered the tournament as the favorites, boasting a 23-4 record. Jarchow had another note-worthy game in the Middlebury win, however, improving her total number of kills from the previous game to 11 with no errors to average a hitting percentage of .733. First-year Kathryn Haderlein ’16 was particularly effective as well, finishing the match with 33 assists and three service aces during the game.
Middlebury started the second day of the tournament with a 3-0 shutout against Brandeis, the team’s third in three days and fourth in a row, dating back to an Oct. 13 match at Trinity. The sets were all close, but the Panthers snuck out a victory in all three, 25-19, 25-23 and 25-16, respectively. Right hitter Amy Hart ’14, Julia Gibbs ’13 and tri-captain Madeline Firestone ’13 led the team in kills while Haderlein finished with 26 assists.
The second match on Saturday proved to be a much greater challenge than what the team had faced earlier in the week. Springfield took down Middlebury 3-2 in five sets. After winning the first set 21-25, Middlebury dropped the next two 25-22 and 25-18 before scrambling to win the fourth set 22-25 to force a fifth and deciding set, which they ultimately lost 15-12. Gibbs filled the stat sheet, totaling 10 kills, seven service aces and 15 digs while Haderlein dished out an extraordinary 45 assists. Jarchow was dominant in the loss with 19 kills and was named to the all-tournament team. Jarchow was also awarded NESCAC Player of the Week.
“We were tested this weekend by some really strong out-of-conference teams,” said outside hitter Sarah Studwell ’13. “Coming out 2-1 feels great, and I think we’re all pretty happy with how we performed.”
After the long week of games, the volleyball team looks ahead to its last two games of the season against Tufts and Bowdoin on Oct. 26 and 27 at home.
“Bowdoin and Tufts are two of the strongest teams in the NESCAC, and our results this [past] weekend will determine our standings,” said Meg Anderson ’14. “We are confident going into [next] weekend that we will be able to compete with and beat these two teams. If all goes as planned, we will finish strong as the second ranked team in NESCAC.”
(10/10/12 11:33pm)
The Middlebury women’s volleyball team bookended a mixed weekend in Hamilton, N.Y. with a shutout win against Colby-Sawyer on Wednesday, Oct. 3 and another shutout Tuesday, Oct. 9 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. against Skidmore. Middlebury boasted a third shutout in the first leg of a double-header against Hamilton on Saturday, Oct. 6 before falling later that day 3-0 to 12th-ranked Cortland State.
Hot off a five game winning streak, the 3-1 week bolstered the Panthers to a 13-4 record with just over two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Wednesday the Panthers opened a stretch of four games in six nights by defeating Colby-Sawyer in straight sets. The Panthers won the first set after a back-and-forth battle that concluded in a 30-28 victory, while winning the other two with the less-dramatic scores of 25-17 and 25-19.
Tri-captain Megan Jarchow ’14 had 13 kills with a .393 hitting average and Kathryn Haderlein ’16 collected a match best 32 assists and three aces.
On Saturday the squad travelled to Clinton, N.Y. to compete in a tournament against both Hamilton and Cortland State. The first game against the Continentals ended in yet another 3-0 shutout. The Panthers won all three sets by at least seven points, taking the first set 25-12, the second set 25-18 and the third set 25-17.
Olivia Kolodka ’15 contributed 11 kills, while Piper Underbrink ’15 led the team in hitting efficiency at an outstanding 75 percent with nine kills.
Jarchow believes that their success came from the team’s ability to remain calm and collected throughout the entirety of the game against Colby-Sawyer.
“We brought that to the Hamilton match as well,” added Jarchow.
The team followed its win over Hamilton with a game against a talented Cortland State (23-2) team. The Red Dragons came out on fire, winning the first set 19-25 and the second set 21-25. However, the Panthers came back strong in the third set, testing Cortland State’s endurance with an epic final set, which they ultimately lost 33-35.
Tri-captain Caitlin Barrett ’13, Kolodka and Amy Hart ’14 led the team defensively, combining for 38 of the team’s 54 digs with 22, eight and eight, respectively.
The Panthers rebounded quickly from the loss to Cortland State with a resounding win over Skidmore (15-5). Offensively, Kolodka, Hart and Jarchow led the way, combining for 34 of the team’s 47 kills with with 13,11 and 10, respectively. First-year setter Kathryn Haderlein ’16, meanwhile, racked up 35 assists while Barrett added 21 digs.
The visitors won the three sets by a total of 13 points, 25-21, 25-20 and 25-21.
Middlebury resumes its NESCAC schedule this weekend as the team travels to Amherst on Saturday, Oct. 12 and Trinity on Sunday Oct 13.
Though the team enjoyed a successful week, the loss to Cortland State stuck out in the mind of Barrett and her teammates.
“I think our loss against Cortland this weekend helped us to prepare for the upcoming week,” Barrett said. “Although we lost in three sets, we proved to ourselves that we can hang with anyone. This week will definitely be competitive and I think we’ll be successful as long as we stay focused and play with confidence.”
(10/03/12 9:03pm)
The volleyball team capitalized on its home court advantage this past weekend, contending against three NESCAC rivals: Williams, Colby and Bates. The games proved no great challenge for the Panthers, who defeated all three opponents. The dominant weekend boosted the team’s record to 10-3.
Despite the strong play of Williams outside hitter Claire Miller, Middlebury defeated the Purple Cows 25-22, 20-25, 25-22, 25-20 in the four set match. The principal contributors for the Panthers were tri-captain Megan Jarchow ’14 with 15 kills, Amy Hart ’14 with eight, Olivia Kolodka ’15 with seven and Piper Underbrink ’15 with an additional six kills. Julia Gibbs ’13 and tri-captain Caitlin Barrett ’13 anchored the Middlebury defense with 21 collective digs.
The team then had just one day of practice to prepare for its game against Colby on Friday, Sept. 28.
“We [prepared] this week on being consistent and improving all the little things,” said head coach Sarah Raunecker. “We will continue to work on our blocking and serve receive, and also being aggressive out of system.”
Her insight proved true, as the Panthers brought home their second victory in three days in a 3-1 match against Colby. The defense stuffed 17 blocks in the game, as the Middlebury won the first, second and fourth sets off Colby, 25-14, 28-26 and 25-19, respectively. In the third set, however, the Mules gave the Panthers a run for their money, as Colby capitalized on a pair of set points and won the set 26-24.
Tri-captains Jarchow, Madeline Firestone ’13 and Barrett, along with Kolodka, Underbrink, Hart and Gibbs were all important contributors in the victory.
The final game of the weekend resulted in another 3-1 victory for the Panthers. The girls, playing their thid game in less than four days, lost the first set to Bates 25-23. Nonetheless, Middlebury came out strong in the second set, responding positively and striking back with power and intensity. After edging out the Bobcts 26-24 in the second set, the Panthers dominated the final two sets, winning by a score of 25-15 and 25-14. Hart, who pounded 17 kills and 15 digs during the match, quickly stifled any hope the Bobcats had of victory.
Jarchow, meanwhile, finished with a dozen kills and Firestone added another 10, bolstering her .643 hitting percentage. Gibbs and Kathryn Haderlein ’16 dished a combined 59 assists, leading the team.
The Panthers travel to Clinton, N. Y. this weekend with games against Hamilton (6-9, 1-3 in NESCAC) and Cortland State on Saturday, Oct. 6.
Despite Hamilton’s struggles this season, the Panthers won’t overlook their NESCAC rival.
“The conference is so deep that we pretty much prepare for most games the same way,” said Raunecker, “and that is to focus on our own game plan.”
(09/26/12 11:51pm)
Friday, Sept. 21 and Saturday, Sept. 22, the Middlebury women’s volleyball team returned to the court with three games at the Coast Guard Invitational. After dropping the first game, the Panthers rebounded with two wins on Saturday.
After a five-hour bus ride to New London, Conn. the Panthers were tested immediately by the host school, ultimately falling three sets to one. After coming out strong and winning the first set 25-22, the Panthers were defeated in the next three sets 21-25, 17-25 and 19-25. Catherine Walker ’13, Kelsey DePorto ’14, Samantha Marmolejo ’14 and Karen Matic ’13 led the Bears victory, racking up a total of 33 kills and 27 digs.
The Panthers, meanwhile, received contributions from Piper Underbrink ’15, who contributed an impressive 11 kills and four blocks, while senior Julia Gibbs ’13 totaled 15 digs and 34 assists.
Saturday morning, the girls came out with new momentum, downing DeSales University and Lasell College 3-1 and 3-0, respectively. In the team’s first game against DeSales, Middlebury took the first set 25-16, but lost the second set 13-25. However, after the short break between sets, the Panthers recovered to edge the Bulldogs 26-24 and 25-17 in the last two sets of the game.
The win improved the Panthers to 6-3 on the season heading into their final game of the tournament. Middlebury’s two right hitters, Amy Hart ’14 and Olivia Kolodka ’15, led the team with 24 combined kills — 13 and 11, respectively — while Julia Gibbs ’13 added 25 assists and senior captain Caitlin Barrett ’13 solidified the Middlebury victory with 17 digs.
The 3-0 shutout against Lasell College was a thrilling way for the Panthers to close out the three-game tournament. With ease, the team quickly defeated the Lasers 25-9, 25-12 and 25-11 in the straight-setter. The standout players of the game included Kolodka, who had eight kills, and first-year setter Katherine Haderlein ’16, who dished out 13 assists. Despite some impressive individual performances, nine different players registered kills in the game, demonstrating the cohesion within the team — one reason for the squad’s impressive 7-3 start to the season.
Following five consecutive road contests, the Panthers return home this weekend, hosting NESCAC rivals Colby and Bates at Pepin Gymnasium on Friday Oct. 28 and Saturday Oct. 29.