Hartford, CT – In the first NESCAC matchup of the season, Williams College (5-0, 1-0 NESCAC) defeated Trinity College (2-4, 0-1 NESCAC) in five sets.
It took five sets for Williams and Trinity to reach a conclusion. Trinity had a great bounce back after the first set and threw Williams out of sequence. However, in the fifth set, Williams settled in. The Ephs jumped to a 7-2 lead, most notably highlighted by first-year
Sidra Wohlwend's serving and a dominant kill from senior
Lydia Kurtz. With a shortened 15 point set, this proved to be all Williams needed to control the flow of the game. Sophomore
Lauren Kauppila kept the Trinity defense on their toes by utilizing all attackers as Williams hit .333 on the set with no attack errors. Trinity sophomore Lola Craig attempted to provide a boost for the Bantams with a late set kill, but Williams was unaffected and won the set 15-9.
Williams hopped out to an early first set lead of 8-1 behind two service aces from sophomore
Marit Hoyem and one service ace from junior
Christina Conforti. This established the tone for the duration of the set, and Williams never surrendered the lead. Williams hit .417 in the first set, with only one attack error. This strong offense prevented Trinity from being able to mount a comeback, but Trinity was highlighted by play from senior Hareena Johnson who collected three kills. Williams won the set 25-10.
Trinity refocused and came into the second set with a much stronger offense attack. Play proceeded back and forth with both teams never collecting a large lead. Williams senior
Olivia Hindy recorded two crucial blocks in this set, curbing an extensive Trinity run. Down the stretch, Williams was up 22-21, but Trinity took a timeout to collect themselves. After this timeout, strong serving from Trinity sophomore Sydney Cross-Watts helped the Bantams go on 4-0 run to win the set 25-22.
The third set saw both teams playing well early on, but a kill from Williams junior
Kiley Wallace followed by a Trinity net violation pushed the Williams lead to 10-6, giving the Ephs energy and enthusiasm to propel themselves to an 18-13 lead. This run was highlighted by 2 blocks from
Lydia Kurtz and 2 kills and a block from
Marit Hoyem. Trinity took a timeout to attempt to rattle the Ephs, and strong serving from Trinity Sydney Cross-Watts and Lola Craig helped the Bantams narrow the Eph lead to 22-19. After a Williams timeout,
Christina Conforti fired a line shot for a kill, giving the Ephs the ball at the service line. Williams held off the late Trinity push for a 25-20 victory.
In the fourth set, Trinity primarily controlled play. Trinity first-year Grace Sullivan provided the boost that Trinity needed as she served for a total of 10 points and collected 3 aces. Her strong serving forced the Ephs out of sequence. Williams was unable to string together any runs but was highlighted by forceful kills from
Kiley Wallace. Ultimately, Trinity reigned victorious and took the set 25-18.
Trinity leaders were: Lola Craig and junior Molly Bernstein with 10 kills each, Grace Sullivan and senior Locke Luhnow with 16 assists each, and senior Natalia Ortiz with 19 digs. Williams leaders were:
Marit Hoyem with 12 kills,
Lauren Kauppila with 25 assists, and
Christina Conforti with 15 digs.
Head coach
Christi Kelsey reflected on the return to NESCAC play, "It was fun to be back in conference play! After 2 years, all of our teams are going to look different and the level of competition is still high. Trinity pushed our team tonight, and we learned a lot about ourselves in each set. We are incredibly proud of how our group elevated their play in the fifth set and showcased confidence and trust in each other that we could physically and mentally play tough."
Williams plays next in a doubleheader on Saturday, September 18
th at Roger Williams University. Williams will face Clark University at 1 PM EST and Roger Williams University at 3 PM EST.
