Williams Takes Down Bates in 3 Sets to End Regular Season

Lewiston, ME - Williams College (13-7, 7-3 NESCAC) took on Bates College (6-17, 0-10 NESCAC). The Ephs came away with the sweep after winning in three straight sets.

While Williams led the third and final set nearly wire to wire, the Bobcats were never far behind, as the set was within reach for both teams until the very end. An early 6-3 Williams lead quickly turned into a 6-6 tie, where the Ephs then won the next four points to build up another decent-sized lead at 10-6 with a solo block from senior Anna Tosolini. Bates soon reeled the Ephs back in though, as they used a 5-1 run to tie the game at 11-all. However, a Bobcat service error on the next point gave Williams a lead they would never surrender, as the Ephs nursed a slim advantage for the rest of the set. Although Bates pulled back within one point at 20-19, Williams won five of the next six points to close out the third set 25-20, with the deciding point coming on a service ace from junior Marit Hoyem. The Ephs were led on the attacking front in this set by junior Celia Adams, who recorded six kills. 

In the first set, the Ephs got off to a relatively slow start as they fell behind by as much as 13-9 at one point. However, Williams was able to effectively use a timeout to regain the momentum, and they won eight of the next nine points, with three kills provided by Marit Hoyem, to force the Bobcats to take a timeout of their own. Nevertheless, the Ephs continued on a roll, as they ended the set on a 7-1 run to take the first set 25-17, with senior Christina Conforti supplying the set-winning kill. 

The second set was all Williams from beginning to end, as the Ephs got out to an early lead and never looked back. At on point Williams won nine of out ten points to establish a massive 16-5 lead. Although the Bobcats made it more competitive in the remainder of the set, it wasn't nearly enough as Williams took the second set 25-12 with a powerful kill from Celia Adams. It was a dominant effort all-around as the Ephs hit .435 in the set and recorded four blocks as a team.

Bates leaders were: sophomore Alyssa Lowther with 9 kills, senior Emma Eide with 20 assists, and first year Ellie Asada with 7 digs. Williams leaders were: Celia Adams and Marit Hoyem with 13 kills each, junior Lauren Kauppila with 20 assists, and sophomore Sidra Wohlwend with 12 digs. 

After ending their regular season with an emphatic win, Eph head coach Christi Kelsey remarked, "Overall this was a great win for our team to close out the regular season. As a coaching staff, we have continued to challenge our crew to want to improve and grow and get better week after week and we are so proud of how they have done that consistently for the past 8 weeks. From games to practices, across the board our team has inspired each other to keep raising the level of our game and today was a really great reflection of all their efforts collectively in the regular season. We are excited to keep this mindset as we head toward NESCAC championship week and look forward to the opportunity to play again on Friday!"

The Ephs will compete next in the NESCAC tournament on Friday, November 4th where they start by taking on Middlebury in the quarterfinals at 7:30 PM EST.