Ephs win in the opening round of NCAAs, face Amherst in regional semis
CAMBRIDGE, MA- The Williams College women’s volleyball team (28-7) continued its impressive season Thursday afternoon with an opening round victory in the NCAA tournament. Coming off a weekend sweep to claim their first NESCAC title since 2004, the Ephs defeated Eastern Connecticut 3-0 (30-24, 30-22, 30-13) at the New England regional, hosted by MIT.
With almost the entire roster playing in their first NCAA tournament match, the Ephs showed some signs of nervousness early, as they struggled to maintain a consistent level of play. As the match wore on, however, the NESCAC champs took control on both offense and defense, and earned a spot in tomorrow’s regional semifinals.
"After a slow start, we settled down and executed better as the match went on," said head coach Fran Vandermeer. "Our block gave us energy and our middles [Whitney] Hitchcock and [Nicole] Ballon-Landa were aggressive and finished a lot of plays for us."
The offense was led on the day by sophomore Whitney Hitchcock, and first years Nicole-Ballon Landa and Emily Avis. Hitchcock, despite playing injured, smashed 13 kills to go along with an impressive .706 hitting percentage and 3 blocks. Ballon-Landa, who was recently named NESCAC Rookie of the Year, tallied a team-high 17 kills, .483 hitting percentage, and 3 blocks, while NESCAC player of the week, Avis, recorded 38 assists.
Sophomores Melissa Pun and Chelsea Kubal paced the defense that limited Eastern Connecticut to 13 points in the final game. Kubal posted a team-high 17 digs, while Pun added 11 digs to go along with 3 service aces and 3 blocks.
Next on tap for the Ephs is a semifinal showdown with archrival Amherst College tomorrow at 4:30 PM. The Ephs are 1-1 this year against the Lord Jeffs. In the regular season, Amherst was victorious in five games, but Williams got redemption in last weekend’s NESCAC championship match. The winner of this season’s third meeting will advance to the New England regional final.
