Williamstown, MA – Williams College (12-3) took on Babson College (19-5) to open play for the New England Challenge. Babson emerged victorious, using four sets to claim the victory.
After emerging victorious in an intense late third set, Babson opened the fourth set with strong play, jumping to an early lead of 8-0. This push was led by strong serving from senior Maddie Malee pinpointing serves to keep the Ephs out of system. Two kills from Eph sophomore
Celia Adams and a kill from senior
Lydia Kurtz attempted to rejuvenate Williams, but the largest run Williams was able to string together was a 4-0 run. This run was instigated by a kill from junior
Anna Tosolini and smart serving from sophomore
Lauren Kauppila. Babson junior Martina Jankovic Chin responded with a kill, but a service error from Babson swung momentum in favor of Williams. Slowly, Williams chipped away at the lead, riding the energy from a
Lydia Kurtz service ace, a powerful kill from
Celia Adams, and a kill from first year
Catherine Vermeullen. Unfortunately, the early Babson lead proved to be too much, and the Beavers took the set, 25-16.
In the first set, Babson took the early lead between strong serving from junior Laura Zuloaga, but Williams played comeback volleyball and was able to tie the set at 18-18. A Williams error and a service ace from Babson Maddie Malee gave Babson the 20-18 lead. Eph
Lydia Kurtz responded with a powerful swing from the outside pin to swing the momentum in favor of Williams. Babson responded with a kill from Laura Zuloaga, but Williams was determined to persevere. A kill from Ephs
Celia Adams and
Marit Hoyem narrowed the gap, and Babson only held the lead 23-22. However, this was enough for Babson's final push, and Babson emerged victorious 25-22.
The second set again resulted in back-and-forth play. The big Williams energy shift came from a double block from
Marit Hoyem and
Anna Tosolini to tie the set at 15-15. Marit and Anna followed this block up with two additional massive stops at the net to take the lead 17-15, firing the Ephs up and forcing a Babson timeout. This timeout gave Babson the sideout, and the Beavers inched their way back into the set to tie it at 18-18. A forceful block from Eph senior
Olivia Hindy and
Anna Tosolini gave Williams renewed energy and the lead 19-18. Although Williams held the lead, Babson threatened behind two kills from junior Jordan Lapins. Down the stretch, Babson was able to tie the set at 23-23, but Williams took a crucial timeout to settle themselves. After the timeout, junior
Christina Conforti found open court with a line shot from the outside pin, and Williams rode this play to the victory, 25-23.
For the third set, the turning point came after a tie of 18-18. A kill from Babson graduate student Julia Palomba and a Williams error gave Babson the lead 20-18. However, Williams responded with a kill from
Olivia Hindy and a dominating solo block from
Olivia Hindy to narrow the Babson lead to 21-20. A Babson service error and kill from
Marit Hoyem tied the set and forced a Babson timeout at 22-22. The push to set point was electric, and both teams traded points. A Williams error and a kill from Babson graduate student Allie Puccio gave the Beavers the lead 24-23. Williams took a timeout to attempt to sideout and was successful after a well-executed slide from
Marit Hoyem. Beaver Martina Jankovic Chin broke a 25-25 tie to send senior Jacalyn Pell back to the service line and help
Babson claim the third set, 27-25.
Babson leaders were: Allie Puccio with 13 kills, sophomore Caroline Applewhite with 44 assists, and Jacalyn Pell with 27 digs. Williams leaders were:
Anna Tosolini with 17 kills,
Lauren Kauppila with 25 assists, and
Lydia Kurtz with 24 digs.
Eph head coach
Christi Kelsey remarked, "There were some definite moments tonight where we executed well, but overall, we were inconsistent. Going into tomorrow, we will get everyone involved and do a better job of taking care of the ball. Tonight, we didn't compete hard from start to finish, but tomorrow, we'll be in a great spot and have another two opportunities to play."
Williams will take on Springfield College at 11 AM EST on Saturday, October 23
rd for the second matchup of the New England Challenge.
