CLINTON, NY -- Williams volleyball (11-10, 4-5 NESCAC) defeated Hamilton (4-14, 1-8 NESCAC) 3-1.
The win by the Ephs was head coach
Christi Kelsey's 250th win at Williams.
The opening of the first set saw the Ephs get off to an early lead following 5 errors by Hamilton 7-3. Hamilton struggled to find their footing and Williams was able to sustain a large momentum translating into two 3-point runs backed by quick sets to the middle hitter Chi Obi. At 11-6, Hamilton called their first timeout, which failed to stop the Ephs momentum, and after 2 kills by Helen Qian, and the Ephs executing all their options. Hamilton called another timeout 16-7. This time, the Continentals came out strong, swinging hard and seeing Williams commit several errors. The Ephs called a nervous timeout 21-17, but after a few points, it was Hamilton's errors that got the best of them in the first set, finishing with the Ephs on top 25-19.
The second set, Hamilton cut back drastically on their errors and played more fluidly, trading off points and then allowing the Ephs to commit several errors and created a two point lead. For a while, the Ephs weren't able to stop Hamilton, but a clutch block by Chi Obi, followed by a kill by Tatum Baker swung them the lead 14-13. A service error and ace let the Continentals slip back 17-16, but it was the Ephs who would force a timeout after Kami Israelski achieved an ace 19-18. The set turned into an intense battle for the lead, and while Hamilton committed the first error which seemed to give Williams a chance to pull away at 22-20, four errors by the Ephs led to their loss in the second set 25-23.
Keely Campuzano set up the Ephs greatly in the third set, opening with the first four points through back-to-back kills. A five point run let Williams have a strong advantage 7-2, and after a few even exchanges, Hamilton called the first timeout 12-7. Post timeout, Morgan Daetz came to achieve an astonishing three aces for her team, and forced another timeout, 16-7. Having not moved at all, the Continentals took advantage of two errors and executed four kills to accumulate a 6-point run and bring the set to a much closer 16-13. Hamilton eventually tied up the score at 19. Chi Obi, once again for the Ephs managed an amazing three points, consisting of two blocks and a kill, to bring the Ephs 2 away from the set. After a final timeout, Williams took their second set 25-23.Â
The Ephs quickly dominated in the last set. Helen Qian contributed with two kills and a block to an initial four point run, which then extended to a 6-point run post-timeout. This gave Williams a confident early lead, 11-5, and then an absolute demonstration of all options let the Ephs climb to 19 points while keeping their opponent at 8. After another series of dominated exchanges, Williams was able to confidently take away the last set 25-15.
Eph head coach, Christi Kelsey provided her comments on the game: "This was a great way for us to kick off the month of November! Really proud of how our team came out from the very beginning focused and prepared to compete! We had to make some adjustments after losing the second set but our team responded really well both in closing out the third set then being incredibly consistent and dominant in the 4th set. Looking forward to closing out the regular season tomorrow!"
The Ephs will play Amherst tomorrow, for their final game of the regular season, away at 2:00 PM EST.
