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Vassar Storms Back In Third Set, Sweeps Williams
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POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (September 14, 2011) – Down by six points
twice in the third set, the Vassar College women's volleyball team
stormed back to capture an exhilarating final set, and in the
process snapped a five-match losing streak against Williams College
with a 3-0 sweep Wednesday night at Kenyon Hall.
With a 25-19, 25-22, 26-24 victory over the previously unbeaten
Ephs (4-1), the Brewers registered their first victory over
Williams since October 20, 2002, a 3-1 victory. Vassar will try and
build on this impressive victory when next hosting New York
University on September 21 at 7:00 pm. Williams next travels to
Connecticut College on September 16 for a 6:00 pm match.
The Brewers had three players each earn 10 kills, with senior
Amy
Bavosa, sophomore Jessie
Ditmore and freshman Marie
Pitre all reaching double digits. Pitre's 10 kills was a
new career high. Junior Chloe
McGuire had nine kills, but her last kill was her
biggest, ending the third set 26-24. The winning point was
orchestrated by McGuire herself who made a great lunging dig off a
Williams attack attempt in the final rally of the match.
“We were down big and didn't lose our poise,” said
head coach Jonathan
Penn. “This is the type of volleyball we need to
play all the time.”
With Vassar holding a 2-0 lead in the match, Williams pulled ahead
by six points twice (17-11 and 18-12) in the third set before the
Brewers mounted a frenetic comeback. Williams freshman Raea
Rasmussen had three consecutive kills to push the Ephs lead to six
points, but the Brewers held firm, however, and with strong defense
and an aggressive attack effort, edged ahead 24-23 following a
powerful Ditmore kill.
Williams knotted the match at 24-24 following a kill by freshman
Claire Miller, setting up a dramatic finish. Bavosa's 10th kill of
the contest pushed Vassar ahead 25-24 and on the final rally of the
match, McGuire dug a driving attack attempt by Miller into the
soft hands of junior setter Hilary
Koenigs, who laid up a perfect opportunity
for McGuire to end the contest. Koenigs finished with 42 set
assists, her fourth straight match with 40 or more set assists.
Vassar stormed in front of Williams in the first set with an
impressive 15-8 lead that featured the emerging play of Pitre, who
had four of her ten kills in the first set and finished the match
with just one error on 18 attack attempts. Vassar pushed its lead
to 19-11 on a Williams service error, but the Ephs did climb back
into the match momentarily, capitalizing on three straight Vassar
miscues to come within 23-18. Kills by Bavosa and Ditmore closed
out the set 25-19.
The middle set was tied four times and was the most closely
contested. At 20-20, kills by Bavosa and Ditmore and a service ace
by Pitre put Vassar ahead 23-20. Bavosa earned Vassar the 25-22 win
with a sharply angled kill.
Both teams matched each other in defensive play with Vassar
earning 68 digs and Williams with 63. McGuire led all players with
19, with Bavosa and Pitre each chalking up 11, a new career high
for Pitre in that category.
Williams saw Miller earn 14 kills. Freshman setter Amanda Schott
had 34 set assists and senior libero Aly McKinnon had 15 digs.
