Schenectady, NY - Williams College (5-2) beat Union College (6-3) 3-2 and swept SUNY New Paltz (4-5) 3-0 to complete this weekend's Crosstown Challenge. The Ephs have now won five matches in a row.
Williams began day two of the Crosstown Challenge in an intense match against Union College who were coming off having swept through two teams just yesterday. The first set was an incredible fight. Union put up a great defense, and an even better offense to secure an early lead, but the Ephs kept a strong determination and matched the aggression. Tatum Baker had a clean line shot around two blockers in a 6 point run, but the Ephs were pressured into a timeout after a 3-point run that brought the Dutchmen to a 14-8 lead. Keely Campuzano immediately responded with an off-system open cross court kill to begin changing the tide of the momentum, but the Dutchmen were able to strike back quickly and put down any buildup. Lilly Carstens gave two great serves which rewarded two points for the Ephs, managing to bringing Union's 5-point lead to a one point lead after Morgan Daetz had a beautiful float serve which fully deflected off of the Dutchmen's back row. However in the end, Union was able to secure a 5-point run, consisting of 3 Williams errors, to win the set 25-19.
The next set opened in the opposite manner, the Ephs went on a 7 point run, with Keely Campuzano achieving an astonishing three aces in a row and after forcing a Union timeout, coming back to achieve another two aces! Keely's float serve alone gave the Ephs 5-points in a row and brought a confident lead to the team 10-2. Union created some momentum of their own, generating a 5-point run, with 3 Williams errors, prompting an Ephs timeout 11-8. Williams reinstated their 5-point lead following a powerful 2-tempo kill by Annaliese Fricke, but Union kept fighting. after a strong ace, Union came back hard to bring the set to 15-14 in Williams favor. This previously dominated set now turned into a single-point back and forth battle. Williams' offense kept repeatedly swinging incredibly hard, stunting the Union's offense. They hadn't been able to get a kill in10 points, whereas the Ephs managed to get 4 kills but also committed 5 attacking errors. As both teams kept inching closer to the end, and after 8-trade offs of kills, the teams were dead even 24-24. Williams claimed the next two points in this intense ending, taking a set from Union who just lost their first set of the tournament.
The third set started with the same extreme intensity that concluded the last set: both teams were playing to win every point. After a four point run, with two more aces by Keely Campuzano (8 total), bringing the set to 8-7, the Ephs managed to hold on to a marginal lead for most of the set. In the 13th point, Chi Obi won a joust to create a 3-point lead for the Ephs, but Union retaliated and brought back the set to a one-point battle between both teams. The match kept playing with utmost intensity, but Union was the first to break 20 points and get a dangerous lead at 23-20, urging an Eph timeout. Morgan Daetz executed a brilliant dump at the next point, but two attacking errors gave Union a tense win, 25-21.Â
Union retaliated more heavily, creating a 4-point run to reinstate their lead. After a few exchanges, a block by Tatum Baker prompted a Union timeout, finalizing Williams' uphill battle from a two-point deficit to a three-point lead 18-15, and putting the ball and chance to tie in their hands. The Ephs took this opportunity to play confidently with a relentless defense picking up many strong and open hits, paired along with a shock-wave of an offense and were chipping through Union's's block and creating a wall of blocks to bring the score 22-17. A final perfect kill by Annaliese Fricke far to the right corner awarded Williams the set 25-19, and forced a fifth and final set to this intense match.
Williams kicked off the last set strong, carrying their previous energy, with two powerful kills to take an early lead. In this set to 15, truly every point matters, and the Ephs showcased that their determination would trump that of Union, plowing through their defense. Keely Campuzano and Baker Tatum did a great job capitalizing on gaps in the Dutchmen block to find the open kill and bring the lead 7-3. The pressure got to Union, whose team relinquished three errors and gave Williams a very comfortable 11-6 lead. Coming off of a timeout Union began strictly setting their outside hitter who managed to get 3 great kills, however Keely Campuzano did the same, after two kills in a row, bringing the set 14-9. Sidra Wohlwend had an amazing dig from an open shot that unfortunately didn't convert to finalize the game, but it was the very next point, where Tatum Baker hit a sharp angle to give the Ephs their hard earned victory 15-10.
The next match was played directly after, against SUNY New Paltz. The Hawks took off on the first set with a 5-point run, but Williams quickly got back into tempo and went on a 6-point run, with Kami Israelski having two aces, to seize the lead 7-5. The set then had a brief period of point trade offs between the teams, but then Williams pulled away with an incomparable 14-point run, led by Tatum Baker who had 6-aces, completely outplaying the Hawks and bringing the set to 23-10. After two more quick points, the Ephs took the first set 25-11. The second set took a slightly different course of action. The Ephs were keeping a consistent and composed system, but New Paltz were playing much scrappier, resulting in more competitive play. By the first half, both teams were exchanging the lead, but after the set was 11-11, Williams kept a lead, and the Hawks called a timeout before Williams could expand it anymore at 18-14. Throughout this set and the entirety of the match, Williams' back row kept up with the scrappy plays and some phenomenal digs. This time around, the Hawks had increased their pressure and aggressiveness, bringing the set much closer, however the Ephs took it again, 25-22, after a middle double-block by Makayla Frazier and Keely Campuzano. The third set played out much like the first. Williams got on an early 6-point run to take the lead, led by Kami Israelski who again got two aces. The Hawks, already seemingly defeated, were never able to catch up. The Ephs soon went on another 7-point run and ultimately finished the set 25-12.
Eph head coach Christi Kelsey gave some reflections on the two wins today, "The Union match was a battle but a great test for us here early in the season. We had to adjust and grind out a lot of points especially in the second set but our team showed a lot of mental and physical toughness to pull out a 5-set win against a strong team. We were even more proud of our crew for coming out just as focused to start the New Paltz match. Sometimes back to back matches can be physically demanding but our team really trusted their training and stepped up our execution. We had a lot of contributions from everyone on the team this weekend and it's been fun to see our growth from last weekend to this one. We will be back in the gym Monday still hungry to get better and prepare for our first NESCAC weekend ahead."
Williams will next kick off its NESCAC debut at home against Trinity College on Friday 7:00 PM EST.
