Williamstown, MA – Williams College (12-2, 6-2 NESCAC) faced Connecticut College (5-9, 2-7 NESCAC) to round out the weekend of NESCAC play. Williams swept Conn, earning the victory in three straight sets.
Williams play in the first set was marked by strong performance from the service line and a collective team effort with controlled passing. Williams jumped out to an early lead behind strong serving from senior
Olivia Hindy and a double block from junior
Anna Tosolini and first year
Tazmin Appiah. Additional intelligent serving by senior
Alicia Blanco pushed the Ephs lead to 9-4, and from here, Williams never looked back. First year
Sidra Wohlwend added two service aces down the stretch for the Ephs. Conn was highlighted by a strong attack performance from first year Katherine Randall but was unable to rally as Williams claimed the first set, 25-15.
Again, the Ephs exploded to an early lead of 12-8 with two kills from
Tazmin Appiah and another double block from Tazmin and
Anna Tosolini. Conn briefly threatened, narrowing the gap within two points behind two kills from senior Avery Light and a kill from junior Christina Leduc. However, Williams utilized an attack error to swing momentum back in favor of the Ephs. Williams refocused and utilized a diversified attack front to push throughout the remainder of the set. Down the stretch, play was highlighted by a kill off the slide from
Tazmin Appiah, a kill from sophomore
Celia Adams, and a service ace from
Olivia Hindy for set point. Williams took the second set, 25-18.
The energy from the first two sets proved to be crucial for Williams in the third set. The Ephs were fired up after a backrow kill from first year Catherine Vermeulen followed up by her service ace.
Celia Adams attacked from the outside pin with a throw to the deep corner, further energizing Williams. Williams then pushed their lead to 11-6. Conn was able to close the gap to three points behind a kill from Katherine Randall and first year Amanda Kreidler; however, this was all Conn could muster. Behind a kill from Eph
Olivia Hindy, Williams resettled and went on a 5-point run to push their lead to 18-12. From here, Williams utilized a kill from sophomore
Caroline Tosolini and two final kills from
Celia Adams to win the set 25-16.
Conn leaders were: Christina Leduc with 5 kills, first year Lauren Carey with 9 assists, and Katherine Randall with 10 digs. Williams leaders: were
Celia Adams with 8 kills, sophomore
Lauren Kauppila with 26 assists, and
Lauren Kauppila with 12 digs.
Eph head coach
Christi Kelsey remarked, "This was a really good response to a tough Friday for us. Conn has some good pieces, and we definitely came out and worked through some of the things we can control and wanted to focus on. I'm really proud of everybody, and this was a great way to end our weekend overall."
The Ephs will host the New England Challenge in Chandler Gymnasium on Friday, October 22
nd and Saturday, October 23
rd. For their first match, Williams will face Babson College at 7 PM EST on Friday, October 22
nd.
