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Williams Denies Bowdoin First NESCAC Tournament Win
Story Courtesy of the Bowdoin Athletics Site
Photo Courtesy of the Williams Athletics Site
AMHERST, Mass. - Sixth-seeded Williams College scored the only
upset Day One at the NESCAC Volleyball Championship,
upsetting third-seeded Bowdoin College 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-20)
Friday evening in Amherst College's LeFrak Gymnasium. The Ephs
improve to 17-12 and will take on second-seeded Middlebury tomorrow
at 3:30 p.m., while the Polar Bears' season comes to a close at
18-11.
Williams matched the 3-2 victory it earned against Bowdoin on Oct.
16 to advance to the semifinals of the conference championship for
the 10th consecutive season. The Polar Bears were in search of
their first-ever trip to the semifinals, but the Ephs played
extremely well to snap their five-match losing skid.
The first set was incredibly even until Bowdoin took a 17-14 lead
to force Williams into a timeout. The Ephs responded by scoring
eight of the next 10 points and pulled away for the 25-21 win. In
the second set Williams fell into an early 4-1 hole but went on a
tear to take a 16-5 lead, and the Ephs never backed off during
their 25-14 win. Williams kept its foot on the gas pedal in the
third frame, jumping out to an 11-3 advantage and doubling Bowdoin
up at 20-10 en route to a 25-20 result.
Emily Avis had 29 assists and 12 digs to lead Williams, while Kate
Anderson and Eleanor Levine combined for 19 kills and teamed up for
three blocks. Anderson also had 11 digs, Aly McKinnon had 14 digs
and Nicole Ballon-Landa finished with a match-high 13 kills.
Kristin
Hanczor and Melissa
Haskell had six kills apiece to lead the Bowdoin attack, with
Haskell also adding 10 digs. Taylor
Vail chipped in with 11 digs and Hillary
Cederna had five kills, while Sophia
Cornew had a well-balanced match with 17 assists, nine digs and
two block assists.
