NORTHAMPTON, MA- The Williams College volleyball team
(18-12) rebounded on Day 2 of the Hall of Fame Tournament,
recording victories over Smith and Brandeis. The victories
clinched a fifth place finish overall for the Ephs during the
two-day tournament hosted by Smith.
"We needed a couple wins today," said head coach Fran
Vandermeer. "Our effort and energy was much more consistent
today and that was reflected in our play."
In the morning match, the Ephs handed Smith its second loss of
the tournament with a 3-1 (25-12, 25-11, 22-25, 25-14)
decision. The Ephs came out strong early and often taking the
first two sets decisively. Smith was able to fight back and
grab set three, but could not answer the Ephs in the match's final
set.
Finally healthy and back in the lineup, sophomore Melissa Pun
split time at setter and recorded 25 assists to go along with 5
kills. On offense, sophomore Kate Anderson had a very
impressive match, posting 11 kills in only 14 chances without an
error. Rounding out the numbers for the Ephs were junior
Whitney Hitchcock (4 kills, 5 blocks), sophomore Nicole
Ballon-Landa (10 kills, 2 aces), and first year Aly McKinnon (10
digs, 5 aces).
The fifth place match featured the fourth seeded Ephs against
the sixth seeded Brandeis Judges. The keys to victory, in the
3-1 (25-14, 28-26, 18-25, 25-19) decision, for the Ephs were the
defense and the blocking game. McKinnon posted an impressive
team-high 24 digs, while Anderson (9 blocks, 6 kills), Hitchcock (7
blocks, 8 kills), and Ballon-Landa (7 blocks, 8 kills) were all
strong at the net.
The Ephs also received good numbers from Pun (10 kills, 18
assists, 2 aces), senior Riki McDermott (15 digs), and junior
Chelsea Kubal (11 kills, 15 assists).
"Now its time to get back to work and get ready for a huge
four-match stretch to end the regular season," said Vandermeer.
The Ephs end their regular season with four consecutive
conference matches beginning Wednesday, October 29, with an away
match against Middlebury at 7 PM.
