NORTHHAMPTON, MA- The Williams College women’s volleyball
team advanced to the championship of the Hall of Fame tournament
Saturday afternoon, before falling to champion MIT 3-0 (30-26,
30-25, 30-28). With a 3-2 (26-30, 30-25, 23-30, 30-28, 15-11)
win over Brandeis earlier in the day, head coach Fran Vandermeer
tied Pat Manning for the most career wins at Williams (218).
The two matches were rematches of earlier William’s
defeats. While the Ephs were able to avenge an earlier loss
to Brandeis, they couldn’t overcome a strong MIT squad in the
championship. MIT defeated the Ephs on September 22nd in the
semifinals of the MIT Invitational, 3-2.
In the Brandeis match, the Ephs found themselves down 2-1 in the
match, and 20-12 in the fourth game before rallying to win.
In the comeback, sophomore Melissa Pun, and first years Emily Avis
and Nicole Ballon-Landa led the Ephs. Pun posted 19 kills and
17 digs, while Avis tallied 40 assists and 13 assists and
Ballon-Landa recorded 7 kills, 3 service aces, and 5
blocks.
Sophomore Chelsea Kubal continued to post well balanced attacks on
both offense and defense, with 10 kills and an impressive 26
digs. Also contributing were junior captain Riki McDermott
(11 digs), sophomores Whitney Hitchcock (9 kills, 3 blocks) and
Alicia Cahlan (6 kills), and first year Eleanor Levine (4
kills).
“We needed a five-game win,” said Vandermeer.
“This was a hard fought, come-from-behind win and it will
help us build our confidence down the stretch.”
Against MIT, the Ephs received contributions from Avis (33 assists,
26 digs), Pun (11 kills, 11 digs), Kubal (16 digs, 6 kills), Cahlan
(5 kills), McDermott (13 digs), Hitchcock (4 kills), Ballon-Landa
(7 kills, 4 blocks), and sophomore Andrea Scioscia (18 digs).
“This was a well played championship match between two strong
defensive teams,” said Vandermeer. “I’m
proud of how we fought and we just fell short to a very consistent
MIT team.”
Despite the loss in the championship, the Ephs claimed second place
in a field of 16 teams and had two players named to the
all-tournament team. Nicole Ballon-Landa garnered her first
all-tournament accolades of her career, while Melissa Pun was named
to an all-tournament team for the third time this season (MIT
Invitational, Nazareth Invitational).
The Ephs now finish the regular season with four straight
conference matches. This tough stretch begins Wednesday
October 24 with a home match against Middlebury at 7 PM.
