SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Senior captain
Annaliese Fricke combined for 19 kills in two matches Saturday for the Williams College volleyball team, but the Ephs dropped matches to NEWMAC opponents Babson, 3-1, and No. 16-ranked MIT, 3-0, during the New England Challenge.
"Today had a lot of good moments for our team, but we are still working to find our consistency and rhythm, especially against tougher teams," said head coachÂ
Christi Kelsey. "We have so many great people and options, so we are looking forward to getting back in the gym and working on how we can compete even better together."
Junior
Tatum Baker (13 kills) and first-year
Eve Kaplan finished with 14 digs apiece on the day for the Ephs (16-6, 5-3 NESCAC), while junior
Morgan Daetz (31 assists) and sophomore
Lilly Carstens (18 assists) combined for the setting responsibilities. Williams won a five-setter thriller against Springfield Friday evening at the New England Challenge, as Fricke was named to the All-Tournament Team.
During the opening match Saturday against the Beavers (16-4, 7-1 NEWMAC), Daetz led the unit with 21 assists and nine digs, while Fricke posted a team-leading 12 kills. Hailey Fouche led all student-athletes with 16 kills for Babson, while Zoe Ackerman tallied a match-best 38 assists.
The first half of the opening set was tightly contested, as a kill by junior
Keely Campuzano cut the Beavers' lead to 12-11. Babson responded by scoring six of the next seven points and ultimately won the set, 25-16, on a kill by Ailsa Munro. Williams showed a great deal of grit in the second set, fighting off three match points and persevering, 29-27, on an attack error by Babson.
The Beavers built a 20-15 lead in the third set, but the Ephs scored four straight points, including a kill by Campuzano and a service ace by senior captain
Kami Israelski. The Beavers scored five of the next six points to secure a 25-20 triumph. Fouche recorded the match-clinching kill in the fourth set, giving Babson a 25-14 victory.
In the second match against the Engineers (20-3, 8-0 NEWMAC), Kaplan led the squad with eight digs, Fricke posted a team-best seven kills and Baker finished with six digs and four kills. Claire Underwood registered a match-best 15 kills for MIT, while Kayleigh May led all student-athletes with 33 assists.
The Engineers took the first set, 25-17, and then during the second set a kill by Fricke cut MIT's lead to 7-6. Daetz recorded five assists and four digs in the second set, but MIT was able to take a 2-0 lead in sets on kill by Eileen Sadati, securing a 25-19 win. During the third set, an ace by Daetz evened the score at 8-8, but MIT was able to close out the match by way of a 25-20 triumph with the match-clinching kill coming from Ali Gibbs.
The Ephs will resume NESCAC competition against Hamilton on Friday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. in Chandler Gymnasium.
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