Wesleyan Box
Score
Wellesley
Box Score
WELLESLEY, MA - The Williams College women's volleyball team
(3-0) won both matches Saturday to give head coach Fran Vandermeer
a career milestone. The Ephs recorded 3-1 victories over
Wesleyan and Wellesley on the day- Vandermeer's 200th
and 201st victories at Williams.
"Today we got quality wins over quality teams," said
Vandermeer. "We're just so excited to get on the van and come
home after such a great start to the season."
Although not an official conference game, Williams got an early
look at Little 3 rival Wesleyan. In the milestone victory,
Vandermeer's Ephs downed the Cardinals, 30-28, 30-23, 28-30,
30-23. The setting combo of sophomore Melissa Pun and first
year Emily Avis were superb at running the offense. Pun
recorded 29 assists, 17 digs, and 11 kills, while Avis added 21
assists, 8 digs and 2 service aces. Junior captain Riki
McDermott tallied 5 kills, 10 digs, and 2 blocks as well.
"Our serve receive was much improved, which allowed us to settle
down on offense," said Vandermeer.
Sophomores Chelsea Kubal, Whitney Hitchcock, and Andrea Scioscia
posted impressive numbers in the first match. Kubal had
another huge game on both offense and defense, recording 13 kills
and 18 digs. Hitchcock continued her success at the net with
4 blocks, while Sciosia tallied 18 digs.
Making only their second career appearances, first years Nicole
Ballon-Landa and Kate Anderson continued to impress. Anderson
smashed a team high 14 kills, while Ballon-Landa added 8 kills of
her own.
In the second match, the Ephs found themselves in an unfamiliar
place, dropping the first game, 31-29. Down 1-0, the Ephs
went on to win the next two games convincingly 30-24, 30-23,
setting up an exciting finish. Down 2-1, Wellesley jumped out
to 16-7 and 28-22 leads in the fourth game. However, the
young Eph squad battled back to tie the score at 30 and eventually
clinch the match, 34-32.
"This was one heck of a comeback win," said Vandermeer. "I
am very proud of this young team to get a comeback over a quality
opponent. This helps to build a lot of confidence for this
team."
The story of the match was the excellent blocking ability of the
Ephs. Anderson led the team with 7 blocks to go along with 8
kills, while sophomore Alisha Cahlan (3 blocks, 8 kills), McDermott
(2 blocks, 6 digs), Hitchcock (2 blocks, 4 kills), and Ballon-Landa
(2 blocks, 8 kills, 4 service Aces) all posted multiple blocks.
"The blocking in this match was the best we've seen in a long
time," said Vandermeer.
Kubal continued her excellent all around play with 12 kills and
20 digs, while Scioscia added another 18 digs to her totals.
The setter tandem of Pun and Avis paced the offense exceptionally
well again recording 21 assists a piece. First year Eleanor
Levine also had a successful match tallying 3 kills and a block.
After an impressive opening weekend, the Ephs now prepare for
their NESCAC conference opener Tuesday, September 11 at Hamilton (7
PM). After recording her 200th win, Vandermeer is
now just 18 wins shy of passing Pat Manning as the all-time leader
in wins.
