Brunswick, ME – Williams College (13-7, 6-5 NESCAC) traveled to Bowdoin College for a quarterfinals matchup against Tufts University (18-4, 9-2 NESCAC). Despite a valiant effort, Williams fell in three sets to Tufts, ending the season for the 2021 Ephs. Tonight's match concluded the careers of 5 seniors –
Alicia Blanco,
Lauren Barry,
Allison Frison,
Olivia Hindy, and
Lydia Kurtz – who were able to exit with a traditional season, exhibiting a love, commitment, and passion to Williams Volleyball that persevered despite the unimaginable circumstances of a global pandemic.
Down to their last chance, Williams entered the third set with a strong-willed mindeset, and throughout the duration of the set, it was unclear who would maintain the lead. A 15-15 tie was broken by Tufts with a kill from senior Jennifer Ryan and a block from junior Maya Lightfoot to take a lead of 17-15. Williams took a timeout to resettle, and Eph sophomore
Marit Hoyem then recorded a kill to curb the Tufts run. The Jumbos maintained their focus, managing to utilize errors to further build their lead. Intelligent and forceful shots from Ephs senior
Lydia Kurtz and sophomore
Celia Adams found the perimeter of the court to keep Williams in the set. When Tufts held a 23-20 lead, Williams took a timeout in a last attempt to take down the Jumbos. After this break, Eph
Celia Adams swung from the opposite pin and used the block to give Williams the ball. However, this was not enough, and Tufts won the third set 25-21.
In the first set, Williams forced a Tufts timeout after a kill from
Marit Hoyem and a double block from
Marit Hoyem and junior
Anna Tosolini to narrow the Jumbos lead to 16-15. Coming out of the timeout, Williams junior
Christina Conforti tipped over the block to tie the set at 16-16. Tufts sophomore Rileigh Farragher responded with a kill off the Williams block to reclaim the lead. From here, it was anyone's set, and both teams responded with dynamic hustle, trading points back and forth. Tufts broke a 18-18 tie by capitalizing on a Williams service error, a block from junior Grace Legris, and a kill from Maya Lightfoot to take a 22-18 lead. Eph senior
Olivia Hindy stopped the run with a solo block out of the middle, and slowly, Williams chipped away at the gap, forcing a Tufts timeout and narrowing the Tufts lead to 24-23. After the timeout, Eph sophomore
Lauren Kauppila read the Tufts defense and dumped the ball over the net to collect a kill and tie the set at 24-24. However, the Jumbos offense was too much down the stretch, and Tufts took the first set, 26-24.
To open the second set, Tufts began where they left off in the first with a 5-0 run. Williams had to stymie the run and did that just that, slowly eliminating the Tufts gap to 10-8. However, Tufts used a service error to embark on a 6-0 run, led by sophomore Maddie Yu's serves to expand the Jumbo lead to 17-8. Eph
Olivia Hindy stopped this run with a kill followed up with a solo block to reverse the momentum back to Williams, creating an opportunity for the Ephs to battle. Williams was unable to string together an extensive run, and Tufts maintained their play to claim the second set, 25-12.
With the win, Tufts advanced to the semifinal. Tufts leaders were: Rileigh Farragher and senior Cate Desler with 8 kills each, Maddie Yu with 23 assists, and junior Stephanie Lee with 16 digs. Williams leaders were:
Celia Adams with 9 kills,
Lauren Kauppila with 21 assists, and first year
Sidra Wohlwend with 12 digs.
Eph head coach
Christi Kelsey reflected, "Tonight was a tough loss as it's always hard anytime the season comes to an end. I'm really proud of the way our team battled, and honestly, I am so proud of how far this team has come this year from where we started. This has been a special group, and even though the season did not end the way that we wanted, we have a very bright future ahead with this group. I want to thank our 5 seniors – Olivia, Allison, Lauren, Lydia, and Alicia – for all that they have done and given to our program. Their leadership has helped create a very special team chemistry that will carry us forward into future years!"
