Cambridge, Mass. -- Volleyball entered the second day of the MIT Invitational in the silver bracket following one win and one loss on Friday evening. The Ephs would rip off two consecutive five set victories on Saturday to claim a respectable fifth place in the high profile tournament. Williams first defeated Endicott 3-2 (25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-10) in an emotional and hard fought rematch of the Ephs' win against the hosts at the Endicott Invitational on September 10th. The Ephs then followed up that victory with another 5 set win against Frostburg State (Md.) 3-2 (21-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13) to complete an exhausting yet satisfying weekend.
Facing off against the Gulls, who returned to regional play after traveling out west to take on three nationally ranked opponents at the Colorado College Invitational, the Ephs ran up against a much improved team than the one they faced two weeks ago. Williams claimed the first set 25-21 in a hectic and quick game. Endicott then buckled down to take set two 25-20. Digging in for a tough battle the Ephs looked to their defense to help bring them back in the match. Senior libero Aly McKinnon had a stellar match for the Ephs, tallying 25 digs, while first year Claire Miller had 15 digs. Classmate Amanda Schott had 13 digs, tied with sophomore outside hitter Emily Baratta. Williams also put up a strong block against the Gulls, with junior Haley Eagon and first year Raea Rasmussen grabbing 5 blocks apiece. Sophomore Emily Doll chipped in with an additional 3 blocks of her own.
The Ephs roared back to take a close third set 25-23, before the Gulls claimed the fourth set 25-21. This forced Williams to engage in their first deciding fifth set of the season. The Ephs looked to their offense to power them to victory, and the team responded emphatically. Miller had a team leading 18 kills versus 6 errors for a hitting percentage of .226 (53 attempts). Baratta was close behind with 17 kills versus 10 errors for a hitting percentage of .125 (56 attempts). Eagon was third on the team with 9 kills, 3 errors, and a hitting percentage of .214 (20 attempts). Williams was able to outlast Endicott in the fifth set, taking it by a score of 15-10, and with it the match.
Facing a quick turnaround time against Frostburg State in the afternoon match, Williams remained wary as the Bobcats had defeated NESCAC rival Colby in the morning match 3-0. Physically and emotionally drained from their earlier match, the Ephs found themselves in a tight back and forth battle. The momentum swung back and forth between the two teams over the first four sets, with each team taking two.
The match quickly degenerated into a short serving competition, as junior Lauren Agoubi dropped in 4 aces for the Ephs, while Miller added an additional 3. All told Williams served up ten total aces in the match. Defensively it would once again be Miller leading the way with 20 digs, while McKinnon, Agoubi, and Schott had 17, 16, and 15 digs respectively. Eagon had 5 blocks for the second match in a row, while first year Callie Kiernan had 3 blocks of her own.
Offensively Miller had 15 kills, one of 6 Ephs with at least 5 kills. Eagon and Rasmussen had 10 kills apiece, while Kiernan had 9, Baratta 8, and Doll 5. Schott gave a strong showing at setter, tossing up a combined 96 assists in the two matches.
In the fifth set the Ephs and Bobcats went back and forth, with both teams exhausted, but unwilling to concede a single point unfought. Ultimately it would be the Ephs that outlasted their opponents, winning the deciding set 15-13. With the victory Williams claimed fifth place in the tournament, only a place removed from their fourth place showing in last year's tournament.
While the weekend marked a strong team effort by the Ephs, it would be first year Claire Miller that garnered the individual honors for the team, being named to the all-tournament team. Miller had 51 kills in four matches over the weekend (3 kills per set), while over the final three matches she added 44 digs (3.14 per set).
The Ephs will look to continue their impressive run of results against visiting Union College in their second home match of the year on Tuesday at 7:00 in Chandler Gymnasium. Williams will then travel to Hamilton College over the weekend for their second NESCAC weekend of the season.
