Vollyball First-Years Serve Notice

Author: Dan Russell

The Middlebury College Volleyball team is currently at 2-1 after a 3-1 victory over Plattsburgh on September 16. After splitting the first two games of the match, Middlebury managed to dig itself out of a considerable hole to win the decisive third game before taking the match in four.

In its season opener, the volleyball team competed against two in-state rivals, - Green Mountain College and St. Michael's - in the Middlebury tournament held this past Saturday at Pepin Gymnasium, In the first series, the Panthers dispatched Green Mountain College with relative ease, winning all three games in the best-of-five series by a combined score of 90-20.

The Panthers were helped by strong offensive performances by third-year co-captain Katy Hicks and first-year Amy Heath, in addition to strong all around showings by senior co-captain Danielle Boniello, Laurie Wollin '05 and second-year rookie Devin Wardell.

It was a good chance for the Panthers' underclassmen to get some much-needed playing time heading into the next series against a more experienced and battle-tested St. Michael's team.

"It was really nice to see our team working together," said Jamie Wong '06, who is in her second season on the team. "If we can maintain similar intensity over the course of the season, we should be able to attain the high goals we've set for ourselves."

In the series against the Purple Knights, the upperclassmen led the attack and did their best to anchor their team as seniors Luz Brito '04 and Boniello, Hicks and Lindsay Hartsock '05 combined 43 of the 53 kills in the series. Although the Panthers fought valiantly, they struggled against the Purple Knights losing the first two games by competitive scores of 30-28, 30-22, rallying to take the third 18-30, but falling once again in the fourth 30-16 as St. Michael's went on to win the tournament and defeat the Panthers for the first time in the school's history.

Bonniello, commenting on the two games, said "The Green mountain game was a good chance for our rookies to step in and get some experience. In the St. Michael's game, we had some trouble getting into a good rhythm, but that's just a matter of inexperience and having our team mesh. We're excited about our potential this season."

The Panthers are bringing a younger team to the table this season partly due to injuries to Molly Cable '06, and Claire Johnson '05.5, which has created roster space for second-year rookies Georgia Jolink, Lacee Patterson and Wardell. Joining them are first-years Amy Heath and Sasha Bronner, for a total of five newcomers on the 13-player roster.

"Having five new players on a team of 13 is a lot," said head coach Sarah Raunecker, who is in her ninth season at the helm. "It will probably take a while to gel but when we do that we should be even stronger than last year."

Boniello and Hicks anchor the Panther defense, which is the team's strong suit. Middlebury's offense is not centered on the individual strength of any one player thus far, which leaves ample room for new and returning players to make their mark. "We're still trying to find our team dynamic," commented Raunecker.

Middlebury managed a third-place finish in the NESCAC tournament in 2002 after going 17-11 for the regular season. The Panthers are set to be competitive in the NESCAC setting this season, but will have to find answers for rivals Williams, Amherst and Tufts.