CAMBRIDGE, MA- After coming from behind to win the final
three games against Vassar, the Williams College women's volleyball
team (9-3, 2-0) dropped two 3-2 matches en route to a fourth place
finish in the MIT Invitational. The Ephs fell to host MIT in
the first match (30-17, 32-34, 30-22, 26-30, 15-13) and then lost
to Wellesley (30-19, 22-30, 26-30, 30-19, 15-10) later in the day.
Coming off a long night Friday, the Ephs showed signs of fatigue
and were hampered by injuries most of the day. With starting
first year setter Emily Avis and junior Molly Hunter already out
for the day, the Ephs suffered another blow, as sophomore Chelsea
Kubal's injury midway through the MIT match ended her day.
"[The MIT match] was a match between two good teams and we look
forward to seeing them again down the road," said head coach Fran
Vandermeer. "Our young players showed a lot of heart in that
match to make adjustments defensively after game one."
After the aforementioned game one, the Ephs battled back to take
a 2-1 lead and actually led the decisive game five before dropping
the match. Despite the loss, the Ephs were led by sophomores
Andrea Scioscia, Melissa Pun, and Whitney Hitchcock.
Defensive specialist Scioscia was just that, posting a team high 27
digs. Pun, filling in for Avis, posted a season high 49
assists to go along with 17 digs and 4 blocks, while Hitchcock
tallied 12 kills, 7 digs, and 5 blocks.
Junior captain Riki McDermott also had a strong match, recording
21 digs and 2 service aces, while sophomore Alisha Cahlan (10
kills, 2 blocks) and first years Kate Anderson (16 kills), Eleanor
Levine (10 kills, 23 digs), and Nicole Ballon-Landa (5 kills, 3
blocks, 2 service aces) had impressive contributions despite the
defeat.
The Ephs would next look to rebound against a team they had
already beaten this season. Coming off a 3-1 win earlier in
the season, Williams, however, was unable to duplicate that same
result in the third place match against Wellesley.
"In [the Wellesley match], our energy was inconsistent and
fatigue played a factor," said Vandermeer.
One of the bright spots for the Ephs was the play of senior
captain Liz Hirschhorn. Coming off an impressive performance
at setter against Smith, Hirschhorn recorded 40 assists to go along
with 3 kills, 7 digs, and 3 blocks. Levine also had an
excellent all-around match, smashing a team-high 17 kills and
posting 18 digs. Rounding out the play for the Ephs were
Scioscia (18 digs), Ballon-Landa (8 blocks, 6 kills), Hitchcock (3
blocks, 4 kills), McDermott (5 kills, 5 blocks, 9 digs), Anderson
(5 kills), Pun (11 digs, 5 kills, 2 service aces), and Cahlan (8
kills, 6 digs).
MIT swept Tufts in three games to claim the championship
title. Melissa Pun was the only Eph named to the
all-tournament team.
"I was really proud of Liz [Hirschhorn's] performance all
weekend, as well as Mellisa [Pun]," said Vandermeer. "No
matter what the score, Andrea [Scioscia] and Riki [McDermott] were
great on defense, and Eleanor [Levine] showed great toughness
against Wellesley."
Williams will next see action at the Nazareth Invitational,
September 28-29. The Ephs play RIT (5:00 PM) and Scranton
(7:00 PM) on Friday September 28th and host Nazareth
(12:30 PM) the following day.
