Cambridge, Mass.-- Volleyball opened up the second day of the MIT quad match by taking on regional #1 UMass-Boston. Despite battling hard, the Ephs would fall to the Beacons 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-14). In the second match of the day the Ephs handily defeated the Golden Bears of Western New England College 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-18).
Against the Beacons the Ephs struggled at times to find their way against their top ranked opponents. Nevertheless, their tough blocking and defense kept them in the first set. Sophomore Emily Doll would lead the way with 4 blocks, while three players, Junior co-captain Haley Eagon along with first years Claire Miller and Raea Rasmussen had three blocks apiece. Rasmussen led the team with 8 digs, while Sophomore Emily Baratta had 7. Despite battling hard, though, UMass would take the first set 25-19.
In the second set Williams was able to jump out to a quick lead as their offense began to find its footing. Baratta had a team leading 9 kills in the match, while Miller was second with 6 kills. Rasmussen was third on the team with 5 kills. UMass, however, rebounded, to tie the score up and push ahead with a slight lead going into the later stages in the match. The Ephs were unable to keep pace, and conceded the set 25-22. Williams attempted to launch the comeback once again in the 3rd set, although it would be to no avail, as the Beacons closed out the match 25-18.
Facing a quick turnaround against Western New England, the Ephs started a little slow in the first set. Quickly finding their footing, the Williams offense began to reassert itself. Emily Doll led the team with 8 kills in only 11 attempts for a hitting percentage of .636 (1 error). Rasmussen had 7 kills in 14 attempts while hitting .429 (1 error) while Baratta also had 7 kills in 16 attempts while hitting .312 (2 errors). As a team the Ephs hit .363 in the first set (8 kills, no errors, 22 attempts) as they cruised to a 25-18 victory.
The offense dropped off a bit for Williams in the second set as they only hit .281 as a team (13 kills, 4 errors, 32 assists), although their block and defense once again proved to be the difference. First year Callie Kiernan, along with Rasmussen and Doll each had 4 blocks, while senior co-captain Aly McKinnon and Baratta tied for the team lead in digs with 5 apiece. The Ephs would take the second set 25-22. Having served tough the entire match, Williams kicked it up another notch in the third set. McKinnon and Doll each had 3 aces, while first years Holly Harper and Amanda Schott both had 2 aces. Junior Jen Borderud also chipped in two aces for the Ephs as the team ended the match 25-18.
While team success invariably comes some impressive individual performances, and for their second place in the tournament the Ephs had two players named to the all-tournament team. Sophomore outside hitter Emily Baratta was recognized for her strong all-around play, while junior co-captain Haley Eagon earned the nod for her shut down play from the middle hitter spot.
The Ephs next travel to Mt. Holyoke for the Hall of Fame Tournament, the most competitive regional tournament on their schedule. They will play Wheaton (Mass.) on Friday before taking on archrival Tufts and NEWMAC power Wellesley on Saturday.
