Williamstown, MA - In their home opener, Williams College (4-0) beat Union College (4-4) in four sets to continue their undefeated start to the season.
Williams led the fourth set nearly wire to wire, as they continuously maintained a slim advantage over Union. The Garnet Chargers always remained within striking distance, however, as they battled to send the match to a deciding fifth set. Down by four late, Union won three in a row to pull within just one point at 22-21. The Ephs were able to hold on though, and one of the longest rallies of the match was finished off by a thunderous kill from senior
Marit Hoyem to clinch the fourth set 25-22.
The Ephs and Garnet Chargers were back and forth in the early going of the first set, as there were five lead changes and eight ties by the time a powerful kill from senior
Celia Adams tied the score at 10-10. From there, Williams was able to find a rhythm, winning five of the next six points to build a 15-11 advantage, whereby Union was pressured into calling their first timeout of the match. The Ephs could not be slowed down, however, and they maintained a comfortable lead as they closed out the set 25-20 when the winning kill landed just short of an diving Union hand. That closed out a nearly flawless offensive set for Williams, as they recorded 16 kills to just 2 attack errors for a .368 hitting percentage.
Williams dominated the early action of the second set, as
Celia Adams recorded her third kill of the set to make it 11-6 in favor of the Ephs. They only continued to add to their lead, with first year
Keely Campuzano putting down three kills in four points to establish an 18-7 Williams advantage. Junior
Sidra Wohlwend notched her second service ace of the set to secure the very next point, forcing Union to call yet another timeout to gather themselves. By this point, however, the Williams lead was nearly insurmountable, and the Garnet Chargers could do little more than simply make the score more respectable.
Celia Adams closed it out 25-13 for the Ephs with a well-struck kill, capping off a dominant set for Williams.
Williams started out hot in the third set behind some dominant serving from
Sidra Wohlwend, who racked up three service aces in just four points to set up a 7-2 lead for the Ephs. Although an error ended the run for Williams, they quickly got back on track with a kill from
Keely Campuzano, followed by a double block by sophomore
Annaliese Fricke and
Marit Hoyem. From here, however, the Garnet Chargers battled their way back into the set, winning eight of the next ten points to even the set at 11-11. Williams and Union traded the lead back and forth over the next few points, but when the Garnet Chargers opened up a 19-16 lead, the Ephs called their first timeout of the match in an attempt to regain their momentum. Union was unfazed though, and ended on a 4-1 run to claim the third set 25-20, forcing a fourth set.
Union leaders were: sophomore Shannon McGrath with 13 kills, first year Sydney Scanlon with 20 assists, and sophomore Georgia Pool with 15 digs. Williams leaders were:
Celia Adams with 16 kills, senior
Lauren Kauppila with 38 assists, and
Lauren Kauppila with 16 digs.
Reflecting on their fourth straight win to start the season, Eph head coach
Christi Kelsey remarked, "The first two sets we kept executing and made some really strong plays, both with our offense being very consistent, and with our defense too. Credit to Union, they didn't go away. They could have very easily folded after the second set and how much we beat them, but they just came back even stronger. They were super scrappy and made us work for it, and we were a little hesitant to close out the third set, but our team responded really well in the fourth. We need these kinds of learning moments, they're awesome for us right now, especially early in the season, and we're just going to keep getting better!"
Williams is back in action in Middlebury, VT at 7:00 PM EST on Friday, September 15th when they travel to take on Middlebury College to start off NESCAC action.
