Box Score Middletown, CT - No. 6 seed Williams College (16-9, 4-5 NESCAC) faced No. 1 seed Wesleyan University (21-1, 10-0 NESCAC) in the finals of the NESCAC tournament. Despite a valiant effort, Williams fell in three sets to possibly end the season for the 2023 Ephs, depending on whether or not they are able to earn an at-large spot to the NCAA tournament.
The Ephs saw themselves fall behind quickly in the third set, as the Cardinals jumped out to a huge 14-6 lead. Although Williams won four points in a row to cut the deficit in half, Wesleyan pushed their advantage to 19-11 and appeared to have the set well within their grasp. Then began a spirited Eph comeback however, as senior
Marit Hoyem smashed home a powerful kill to start a Williams run. With four kills from sophomore
Annaliese Fricke in a span of only seven points, the Ephs were just one point away from pulling level with the Cardinals at 23-22. It was not to be for Williams though, as Wesleyan won the final two points to clinch the third set 25-22.
The Ephs got off to a great start in the match, as senior
Lauren Kauppila served up an ace to kick off the first set. Two early kills from
Annaliese Fricke helped Williams establish an early 7-4 lead, but Wesleyan proceeded to win three in a row to tie the score at 7-7. Sophomore
Sydney Eyestone and
Marit Hoyem teamed up on a block to give the Ephs a 12-11 lead, then Wesleyan put together a 7-2 streak to build their largest lead of the set. The Ephs battled their way back into the set and at 22-22 it appeared to be anyone's game, but the Cardinals won three of the last four points to secure the first set 25-23.
Despite the Ephs opening up an early 6-4 lead in the second set, Wesleyan quickly won eight points in a row to blow the set open and Williams could never quite get back on track. Back to back kills from
Sydney Eyestone and
Annaliese Fricke narrowed the deficit to 20-13, and then the Ephs saved three set points in a row starting down 24-14, but the gap was too large for Williams to overcome as Wesleyan closed out the second set 25-17.
Wesleyan leaders were: junior Michelle Jorba with 9 kills, junior Maya Lopansri with 16 assists, and senior Bianca Ortiz with 14 digs. Williams leaders were:
Marit Hoyem with 9 kills,
Lauren Kauppila with 15 assists, and junior
Sidra Wohlwend with 10 digs.
Reflecting on the tough loss, Eph head coach
Christi Kelsey commented, "Today was definitely a tough one. First you have to give credit to Wesleyan as they really came out from the beginning and executed very consistently over the course of the whole match. We did some things really well in stretches, but couldn't quite put enough together to push the momentum back in our direction. Overall, I'm incredibly proud of this group and what they have done throughout the course of the season to get to this point. We wanted to put ourselves in a position to play for a championship and we did. We hope to have an opportunity to play for one more week, but we'll find out on Monday."
The Ephs now await the results of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Selection Announcement, which will take place at 1:00 PM EST on Monday, November 13th.
