Williamstown, MA – For the final matchup of the New England Challenge, Williams College (13-4) took on MIT (22-2). In four high-energy sets, Williams handed MIT their second loss of the season.
In the fourth set, Williams went on an electric 9-1 run to take the lead 16-12. This run utilized five different offensive players, showcasing the diversified Williams offense. First year
Sidra Wohlwend led the service push, serving for five points and collecting a service ace. Although Williams surged back into the set to take the lead, MIT was determined to persevere, and a kill from first year Ella Gragg reversed the momentum back to MIT. Behind sophomore Emily Cheng's serves, MIT tied the set at 17-17. However, a kill from sophomore
Marit Hoyem gave Williams the ball and was followed up by a kill from junior
Anna Tosolini to force a MIT timeout and give the Ephs the 19-17 lead. This timeout proved to be successful in shifting the momentum as yet again the set saw another tie although at 19-19. Both teams battled back and forth to set up a dynamic final push, reaching another tie at 24-24. A dominant kill from sophomore
Celia Adams followed by a double block from
Marit Hoyem and junior
Christina Conforti gave Williams the hard-fought victory, 26-24.
In the first set, Williams posted a .341 hitting percentage and an exceptional blocking performance across the entire net, helping to control a robust MIT offensive front. Whether entirely preventing a MIT attack or providing a touch on the ball for the Williams back row to scramble to keep the ball up, the Ephs front line was a force, helping the Ephs to a lead of 15-11. MIT then took a timeout and forced a Williams service error. The Engineers went on a 4-0 run to tie the set at 15-15, led by first year Ottavia Personeni. Williams first year
Tazmin Appiah stopped this run with a quick kill from the middle followed up by intelligent swings from senior
Lydia Kurtz and
Celia Adams, pushing the Williams lead to 19-15. MIT was determined to narrow the gap and did just that behind two kills from Ella Gragg and a service ace from junior Sofie Kupiece, drawing within one point of the Eph lead. Both teams traded points down the stretch, but Williams maintained their energy and utilized kills from
Lydia Kurtz and
Tazmin Appiah to surge to the victory 25-22.
The importance of the Williams block and its impact on Eph play cannot be overstated. In the second set, Williams was fired up, riding the energy from dominant stops at the net as well as great ball control and powerful swings. Williams did not embark on an extensive run, rather relying on intermittent 3-0 or 4-0 runs to stop any MIT momentum. Eph play was highlighted by strong stops at the net from
Marit Hoyem,
Tazmin Appiah and
Anna Tosolini as well as powerful swings from
Celia Adams,
Lydia Kurtz, and junior
Christina Conforti. Williams was in the zone, playing together with phenomenal communication and hustle. At set point, MIT attempted to muster a comeback with a 4-0 run, instigated by a kill from senior Annie Bryan followed by serving from sophomore Ashley Margetts. However, Williams held off the late rally, and a kill from
Lydia Kurtz off the MIT block gave the Ephs the victory, 25-18.
After dropping the first two sets, MIT exploded to an early lead in the third set with a 7-1 run, led by four kills from Annie Bryan. Williams took a timeout to resettle, and although Williams refocused, they had a large deficit to overcome. The Williams charge was led by four kills from
Celia Adams and multiple powerful double blocks from
Anna Tosolini and senior
Olivia Hindy, but the MIT lead was too large. The Ephs attempted to rally, but MIT took the third set 25-17.
MIT leaders were: Ella Gragg with 20 kills, Emily Cheng with 56 assists, and Ottavia Personeni with 22 digs. Williams leaders were:
Celia Adams with 19 kills, sophomore
Lauren Kauppila with 32 assists, and
Christina Conforti with 23 digs.
Eph head coach Christ Kelsey reflected, "There aren't enough words to say how proud I am of this group. They came out from the very beginning and played with a lot of confidence. We have been working with our frontline players on timing and making adjustments, and once we saw those adjustments, it was easy to build on that. A lot of people stepped up in different roles to help us keep the energy and momentum going from start to finish. I'm really proud of how we executed our game plan, made adjustments, and played with a flat out desire to win."
Williams will return to conference play next weekend when they travel to face Middlebury College at 7:30 PM EST on Friday, October 29
th.
