Williamstown, MA – Williams College (8-1, 2-1 NESCAC) took on Bowdoin College (6-3, 3-1 NESCAC) on Friday night for the first match of a home weekend of competition. It took five sets to declare a victor, and Bowdoin emerged victorious.
The fifth set proved to be the decisive one in Friday night's matchup, and Bowdoin opened with a service ace from junior Ella Haugen to give the Polar Bears the 1-0 lead. From here, Bowdoin never looked back and controlled the duration of the set. Williams threatened Bowdoin's lead, by pulling within one point but were unable to string together a run. A double block from Williams senior
Lydia Kurtz and first-year
Tazmin Appiah narrowed the Bowdoin lead to 12-8, but the Polar Bears resettled and utilized a powerful kill from senior Sophia Pahl to kickstart the final push and win the set 15-8.
Williams and Bowdoin jumped out of the gate ready to start the evening. Play was back and forth, with both teams evenly matched. Bowdoin broke a 13-13 tie with a dump kill by setter Ella Haugen which was followed up by a service ace from Bowdoin junior Jaida Hodge-Adams. This pushed the Bowdoin lead to 15-13, and it looked as if the Polar Bears were going to retain control over the set. However, Williams was determined to persevere and began the comeback instigated by a Bowdoin service error. Williams sophomore
Lauren Kauppila went back to the service line and helped lead a 7-0 run, pushing the Williams lead to 22-19. Slowly but surely, Bowdoin chipped away at the Williams lead by forcing the Ephs to play out of system. Behind a double block from senior Allyson Hawkins and sophomore Lauren Lange, Bowdoin reversed the momentum and won the set 25-23.
After a slow start, Williams bounced back in the second set. An electric kill from
Lydia Kurtz followed by strong serving from
Lauren Kauppila pushed the Williams lead to 12-8, and the Ephs never looked back. For the remainder of the set, Williams was in control, highlighted by an ace from senior
Allison Frison and two back-to-back kills from sophomore
Marit Hoyem. Although Bowdoin attempted a comeback behind the arm of Sophia Pahl, the Ephs were unfazed and cruised to the 25-15 victory.
Carrying the momentum from the second set allowed Williams to control the pace of play in the third set. The turning point came from an Eph 6-0 run, instigated by a
Lauren Kauppila intelligent dump for a kill and followed up with her crucial serving. Bowdoin forced a side out with a throw kill from Sophia Pahl and began a 4-0 run, but Eph
Tazmin Appiah shut down the run with a solo block – giving Williams the 18-14 lead. The final Williams push was capped off with a service ace from senior
Alicia Blanco and an overpass kill by
Lauren Kauppila. Williams took the third set 25-16.
Although Bowdoin was down by two sets, the Polar Bears refocused and dialed in for the fourth set. This set saw 12 ties with long intense rallies. Both teams played excellent defense, led by their liberos – Bowdoin's first-year Maya White and Williams'
Allison Frison. Bowdoin's Jaida Hodge-Adams was the key energizer for the Polar Bears as she came off the bench and used her left hand to dump the ball over the block. This gave Bowdoin the 22-21 lead and seemingly shifted the energy. However, Williams was determined, and after a Williams timeout,
Tazmin Appiah took flight and fired down a kill to give Williams a point. This was followed by a
Lauren Kauppila ace, and the Ephs were right back in it, with a 23-23 tie. However, Bowdoin found a hole in the block with a kill from Lauren Lange and proceeded to surge to the 26-24 victory.
Bowdoin leaders were: Sophia Pahl with 16 kills, Ella Haugen with 29 assists, and Maya White with 15 digs. Williams leaders were:
Marit Hoyem with 15 kills,
Lauren Kauppila with 47 assists, and
Allison Frison with 17 digs.
Eph head coach
Christi Kelsey remarked, "To their credit, Bowdoin played well. We made some good adjustments after the first set with more of a balanced offense and a more disciplined defense. For us, it is about consistency, and we were up and down in the fourth and fifth sets. There's a lot of growth opportunities to make adjustments, and we're excited to get back at it tomorrow against Tufts."
Williams will take on Tufts University at 2 PM EST on Saturday, October 2
nd at home in Chandler Gymnasium.
