Amherst, MA – Williams College (13-6, 6-4 NESCAC) took on Amherst College (15-4, 6-4 NESCAC) for the final matchup of regular season play. Amherst took down Williams in four sets.
The fourth set was the deciding point in the match. Both teams traded points until Williams broke a 16-16 tie with a 4-point run, instigated by a kill from senior
Lydia Kurtz followed by first year Sidra Wohlend's service arm. This gave the Ephs a 20-16 lead. Amherst persisted in managing the expansion of the gap and slowly chipped away at the lead, eventually forcing a tie at 23-23. From here, it was either team's set but a kill from junior Sami Underwood shifted the momentum to Amherst, and the Mammoths surged to the fourth set victory, 26-24.
In the first set, Amherst maintained a lead for the majority of the set, all the way to set point. With the help of the strong attack of Amherst senior Sophie Launsbach and senior Jamie Daily, the Mammoths pushed to a lead of 24-19. At set point, Williams sophomore
Celia Adams responded with a decisive kill, sending
Lydia Kurtz back to the service line.
Lydia Kurtz led the way from the service line along with sophomore
Marit Hoyem contributing two blocks and
Celia Adams firing down three more kills. This authoritative play allowed the Ephs to overcome the Mammoth lead, and Williams took the first set, 26-24.
The second set saw neither team embarking on large runs as both teams curbed each other's momentum, demonstrating it was anyone's set. For Williams,
Celia Adams led the offensive charge, and sophomore
Lauren Kauppila recorded two service aces. The turning point came from when Amherst broke a 19-19 tie with a kill from Sami Underwood. After this, Williams was only able to collect one more point with a kill from
Celia Adams. Amherst claimed the second set, 25-20.
An early run for Amherst with three kills from junior Caroline Tilton led the Mammoths to a third set lead of 12-4. Williams first year
Tazmin Appiah stopped this run with a solo block, but this was not enough to reverse the momentum to the Ephs. Williams attempted to piece together a run behind a kill from
Celia Adams and a kill from junior
Christina Conforti. However, this effort was unsuccessful as the Amherst lead was too large. Amherst took the third set, 25-12.
Amherst leaders were: Caroline Tilton with 15 kills, sophomore Carly Cooper with 34 assists, and first year Lizzie Papalia with 25 digs. Williams leaders were:
Celia Adams with 18 kills,
Lauren Kauppila with 28 assists, and
Sidra Wohlwend with 29 digs.
Eph head coach
Christi Kelsey commented, "We battled well at times today. This group has been awesome about wanting to improve and get better each week. This next step is what we have been building for all season. We will be ready for NESCAC's next week."
Williams will compete next in the NESCAC tournament on Friday, November 5
th with a time and opponent to be announced.
