South Hadley, Mass.-- Volleyball opened up play at the Hall of Fame Invitational Friday evening against the Wheaton College Lyons. In a tournament that features many tough matchups between NESCAC and NEWMAC teams the Ephs hoped to start off strong against a cross-conference rival. Williams would defeat the Lyons 3-0 (25-10, 25-12, 25-17).
The Ephs rolled to victory behind tough serving and an impressive offensive performance. As a team Williams registered 14 aces, their most in a match since 2008, and tied for the 10th highest total all time. Senior libero Aly McKinnon had a match high 5 aces, while first year Raea Rasmussen had an additional 3. Offensively sophomore outside hitter Emily Baratta had 9 kills in 18 attempts, for a hitting percentage of .388 (2 errors). Classmate Emily Doll had 7 kills in 12 attempts while hitting .333 (3 errors), and Rasmussen had 5 kills in 11 attempts while hitting .363 (1 error). In two sets of play first year Callie Kiernan hit .600 with 3 kills in 5 attempts and no errors.
Defensively Emily Doll led the team with 5 blocks, while first year Holly Harper patrolled the back court for Williams, tallying a team leading 7 digs. Baratta was second on the team with 6 digs, while McKinnon chipped in an additional 4. First year Setter Amanda Schott had 4 digs to go along with 23 assists.
The Ephs will next take on two regionally ranked foes, #8 ranked Wellesley and #4 ranked Tufts, in the second day of the tournament.
