Williams Earns Three Set Victory Over Vassar

Poughkeepsie, NY - Williams College (3-1) took on Vassar College (0-6). The Ephs came away with the three set victory.

Unlike the first two sets, the third set started out close, with the Ephs and Brewers splitting the first six points, 3-3. However, a string of quality serves from senior Gracie Guidotti, including three aces, helped Williams quickly separate to an 11-3 lead. Although Vassar battled to stay in the game, splitting the next twelve points to keep the game within striking distance, the Ephs surged to a 25-13 third set victory, securing the match win. 

Williams got off to a fast start against Vassar in the first set, racing out to an early 8-2 lead behind two powerful kills from first year Helen Qian. Although the Brewers were able to cut the lead in half with a three point run of their own, a kill from junior Celia Adams put an end to their momentum, and the Ephs comfortably won the first set 25-14. It was an all-around team effort, with six different Ephs registering a kill in the first set. 

It was more of the same for Williams in the second set as they jumped out to a 7-1 advantage behind a strong serving run from senior Christina Conforti. Even as a kill from Vassar's Rebecca Gutierrez put a stop to the streak, the Ephs remained undaunted and won nine of the next ten points, including a nifty setter dump from junior Lauren Kauppila. From there, the Ephs never looked back as they came away with a 25-7 second set victory.

Vassar leaders were: first year Molly Delahunty with 5 kills, first year Melia Voss with 10 assists, and senior Kaitlin Birnbaum with 12 digs. Williams leaders were: Celia Adams with 5 kills, Gracie Guidotti with 15 assists, and Celia Adams with 10 digs.

Eph head coach Christi Kelsey reflected on the win, "I was really proud of how our team came out from the very beginning of the match with an incredible focus on how they wanted to compete tonight. They set the tone in the first set with their skills and the fast pace at which they wanted to play and never looked back. We worked a lot in practice on some fundamental elements of our game and that intentional practice showed up as well in how we executed points in each set. This was a great mid week opportunity for us and looking forward to another chance to get back on court together to compete this weekend."

The Ephs' next match will be at home against Middlebury College at 7:00 PM EST on Friday, September 16th.