Ephs grab fifth place at Hall of Fame tourney

NORTHAMPTON, MA-  The Williams College volleyball team (18-12) rebounded on Day 2 of the Hall of Fame Tournament, recording victories over Smith and Brandeis.  The victories clinched a fifth place finish overall for the Ephs during the two-day tournament hosted by Smith. 

"We needed a couple wins today," said head coach Fran Vandermeer.  "Our effort and energy was much more consistent today and that was reflected in our play."

In the morning match, the Ephs handed Smith its second loss of the tournament with a 3-1 (25-12, 25-11, 22-25, 25-14) decision.  The Ephs came out strong early and often taking the first two sets decisively.  Smith was able to fight back and grab set three, but could not answer the Ephs in the match's final set.

Finally healthy and back in the lineup, sophomore Melissa Pun split time at setter and recorded 25 assists to go along with 5 kills.  On offense, sophomore Kate Anderson had a very impressive match, posting 11 kills in only 14 chances without an error.  Rounding out the numbers for the Ephs were junior Whitney Hitchcock (4 kills, 5 blocks), sophomore Nicole Ballon-Landa (10 kills, 2 aces), and first year Aly McKinnon (10 digs, 5 aces).

The fifth place match featured the fourth seeded Ephs against the sixth seeded Brandeis Judges.  The keys to victory, in the 3-1 (25-14, 28-26, 18-25, 25-19) decision, for the Ephs were the defense and the blocking game.  McKinnon posted an impressive team-high 24 digs, while Anderson (9 blocks, 6 kills), Hitchcock (7 blocks, 8 kills), and Ballon-Landa (7 blocks, 8 kills) were all strong at the net. 

The Ephs also received good numbers from Pun (10 kills, 18 assists, 2 aces), senior Riki McDermott (15 digs), and junior Chelsea Kubal (11 kills, 15 assists).

"Now its time to get back to work and get ready for a huge four-match stretch to end the regular season," said Vandermeer.

The Ephs end their regular season with four consecutive conference matches beginning Wednesday, October 29, with an away match against Middlebury at 7 PM.