Ephs claim New England regional title, trip to Elite 8
MEDFORD, MA- The Williams College volleyball team (28-12) finished one of the most improbable runs to a championship title Saturday night by defeating Wellesley, 3-1 (27-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-21). For the Ephs, their twelfth consecutive victory clinched them the New England regional title and trip to the Elite 8.
"We knew that this regional final would be a battle," said head coach Fran Vandermeer. "The two best defensive teams in the region were battling it out tonight and I tip my hat to Wellesley."
The match started very well for the Ephs, as they came to leads of 20-14 and 23-15. The Blue, however, would not concede the set victory as they battled back to tie the match at 24. With a potentially crushing turn of events, the Ephs responded just as they have for their entire winning streak- by getting tougher down the stretch. With the match tied at 25, the Ephs claimed the final two points and the first set.
After stealing momentum late in the first set, the Blue came out strong in the second set and never let up. The Ephs were able to use a 4-0 run to tie the set at 11, but that was as close as they would get, as Wellesley battled to the set victory.
The third set exemplified how much both teams wanted to claim the regional title. The Ephs jumped out to an early 7-1 lead, only to see the Blue battle back to tie it at 10-10. From that point on, both teams traded points until Wellesley called their final timeout with the Ephs up 22-21. The pause in the action benefited Williams, as the Ephs closed out the set wit a 3-2 run.
The match's decisive fourth set saw the Ephs post a 6-0 run to erase an early 5-2 deficit, only to see the Blue again tie the set at 10. It was at this point, though, that the Ephs dug deep and found the intensity that had led them from a fourth seed in the NESCAC tournament to the New England regional title match.
Williams used a 12-7 run to force Wellesley to use their final timeout. With victory within their grasp, the Ephs came out strong and clinched the set and their first trip to the Elite 8 since 2004.
One of the keys to victory for the Ephs was the defense late in the match. Junior Andrea Scioscia recorded nine of 11 digs in the match's final set, while senior Riki McDermott (11 digs) and juniors Melissa Pun (14 digs) and Chelsea Kubal (10 digs, 4 kills) refused to let a ball touch the floor during the grueling four set match.
On offense, the play of sophomores Emily Avis, Nicole Ballon-Landa, and Kate Anderson led the Ephs throughout the match. Avis tallied 48 assists to go along with 7 digs, while Anderson (22 kills, 4 blocks) and Ballon-Landa (20 kills, 2 blocks) continued to perform at the highest level.
Rounding out the numbers for the Ephs were junior Whitney Hitchcock (4 kills, 4 blocks) and sophomore Eleanor Levine (3 blocks, 2 kills).
"I could not be more proud of this team," said Vandermeer. "Wellesley's poise put us out of our comfort zone and this team showed a lot of heart to battle back after being down and be able to play Williams volleyball the rest of the match. This was a total team effort."
The Ephs now travel to the Elite 8 hosted by Illinois-Wesleyan on Thursday with an 8:30 PM match against Ohio-Northern.
2008 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball
Championship
New England Regional
All-Tournament Team
MVP - Kate Anderson, Williams
Stephanie Wiese (Endicott)
Heather Lively (Springfield)
Dawson Joyce-Mendive (Tufts)
Alice Cummings (Wellesley)
Jessica Duff (Wellesley)
Nicole Ballon-Landa (Williams)
