Amherst, Mass.-- Volleyball wrapped up the NESCAC regular season against defending conference champion Middlebury on Saturday. Playing at Amherst, the atmosphere was much different then the previous night's matchup between the Ephs and Lord Jeffs. The match against the Panthers, however, held no less significance, as it would go a long way to deciding the final seeding for next weekend's NESCAC tournament. Despite starting off well in a tight first set, the Ephs would fade down the stretch, eventually succumbing to a 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-18) loss.
In the first set Williams was able to get the jump on their opponents, slamming home 14 kills as they sought to overpower the Panthers. In the offensive battle, however, Middlebury proved to possess just a little bit more, tallying 18 kills. The Ephs were led offensively in the match by first year Claire Miller, who had 9 kills. Sophomore Emily Baratta had one of her best games ever in a Williams uniform, hitting 7 kills in 16 attempts with no errors for a team leading hitting percentage of .438. Despite the score remaining close late into the set, Middlebury would nip Williams at the end, 25-22.
The second set saw a steep drop off in offensive production for the Ephs, as they registered only 5 kills. The team attempted to compensate defensively, and junior Haley Eagon proved strong once again at the net with 4 blocks. In the back row Miller, senior Aly McKinnon and junior Jen Borderud all had 7 digs apiece. Williams struggled, however, on serve receive as Middlebury took the second set 25-13. The Ephs attempted to rally in the third set, but Middlebury refused to give way under the pressure, and took home the victory with a 25-18 set win.
Williams will now go into the tournament with the #7 seed, and face a tough first round matchup against #2 seeded Tufts, the runner up at last year's tournament. In a year that has seen numerous upsets and no single team emerge as the undisputed front runner, it looks to be an exciting weekend of play at the championship tournament, held at top seeded Bowdoin.
