New London, CT--
Coming off a tough loss the night before, volleyball looked to bounce back against archrival Tufts in the second match of their first NESCAC weekend. The Ephs, having failed to beat the Jumbos since their memorable upset win in the 2009 NESCAC championship game, fought extremely hard against their opponents, the runner-up at last year's championships, before ultimately conceding defeat in four tough sets 3-1.
In set number one the Ephs came out strong, battling back and forth for the first few points. Two long serving runs by Tufts junior Kendall Lord, however, allowed the Jumbos to walk away with a crucial first set victory. In the second set Williams jumped out to a 6-2 lead, although Tufts would knot the score at 8-8 and, taking a steady two point lead deep into the match, ripped off a quick flurry of points to take the set.
First year setter Amanda Schott distributed the ball well for the Ephs, tallying 39 assists for the match, and the team once again relied on the power of her classmate, Claire Miller, to lead them forward. Miller had a team leading 16 kills in the match against 5 errors for a hitting percentage of .250 (44 attempts). Junior co-captain Haley Eagon had 9 kills with no errors for an impressive hitting percentage of .428 (21 assists). First years Emily O'Day and Raea Rasmussen had 8 and 7 kills respectively. Rasmussen would have 3 blocks in the match, while Miller contributed an additional 2.
In the third set the Ephs were right in the thick of things until a slew of serving errors caused them to fall dangerously behind. Senior co-captain Aly McKinnon then stepped back to the line to serve with her team down 19-24, and singlehandedly willed the Ephs back into the match. The Ephs would not drop another point in the set as they closed out an impressive comeback 26-24.
The Ephs went back and forth in set four with the Jumbos as Williams hoped to force, and Tufts hoped to avoid, a deciding fifth set. Behind an impressive defensive effort, combined with some tough serving, the Ephs managed to stay close with their now wary, yet still dangerous, opponent. Junior Lauren Agoubi would lead the team with a pair of serving aces, as the Ephs served up a total of six aces in the match. McKinnon and Miller would tie for the team lead with 15 digs apiece, while first year Holly Harper had 11. Despite their best efforts, however, Williams found themselves down again late, 24-18. With their backs against the wall Harper stepped back to the line and served the Ephs even at 24-24. With both teams pushing hard it would be the Jumbos who eventually got their nose in front at the end, taking the set 28-26 and ending any hopes of an amazing Williams comeback.
Despite the setback, the team has a lot to be proud of following their first conference weekend. All twelve players contributed at some point over the course of the two matches, indicating the depth and cohesion that the team enjoys. Still a very young team, the Ephs will be looking to keep on steadily improving as they next welcome Southern Vermont College into Chandler Gymnasium for their home opener on Wednesday September 21st at 7 pm.
