Rollercoaster Week for Volleyball

Author: Dan Russell

The Middlebury College women's volleyball team has gone an impressive 4-3 in its last seven outings, played over an exhaustive 10-day stretch. The Panthers began by playing Skidmore at home on Oct. 8. In a tight, four-game series, the Panthers narrowly beat out the Thoroughbreds by a score of 30-27 in the first match, lost the second match 30-17, prevailed in overtime in the third match 34-32, and finally triumphed in the fourth by a score of 30-28. Co-captains Katy Hicks '05 and Danielle Boniello '04 played strong games on offense with 13 kills apiece, while Boniello also played a strong game defensively, with three solo blocks and three block assists. Sydney Hartsock '05 also produced a great all-around effort will 11 kills and two service aces, as well as 22 digs. On defense, Jamie Wong '07 was a nearly ubiquitous presence, with a phenomenal 33 kills, while Lacee Patterson '07 (18 digs) and Luz Brito '04 (23) also made strong contributions.

The Panthers then traveled up to Maine for a three-game sweep against Bowdoin, Bates and Colby. In the first game against Bowdoin, the Panthers maintained control of the game throughout. Except for the first match where the Polar Bears took the Panthers to overtime, with Middlebury winning 32-30, the game was never really in doubt, as the Panthers won the next two matches by the scores of 30-24 and 30-25. Hicks and Boniello combined for twenty kills, while Sydney Hartsock added 3 service aces. Wong continued to be stalwart on defense with 25 digs, while Lacee Patterson added 19.

The game against Bowdoin took its toll as a physically exhausted Panther squad fell to Bates the very same day in three successive matches 30-18, 30-27, and 30-20, and continued to struggle the very next day, falling Colby College by scores of 30-18, 30-21, and 30-26

Returning home to play Colby-Sawyer College, the Panthers struggled once again, but were able to pull out the game in dramatic fashion. Middlebury and Colby-Sawyer traded matches back and forth, pushing the series to five-matches, before the Panthers ultimately prevailed in the final match 15-11. Hicks accounted for nearly a third of the Panthers' output offensively, with an exceptional 18 kills, while Patterson played a strong all-around game with 13 kills, three service aces and 18 digs. Wong added 21 digs of her own

The Panthers then hosted a double-header against conference opponents Williams and Hamilton. In the first game, the Panthers fell for the second time this year to a very strong Ephs by a score of 30-26, 30-26, and 30-20. In the second game of the double-header, the Panthers were able to rebound and gain some measure of redemption against Hamilton. They dispatched the Continentals fairly handily in the first game, were pushed into overtime the second game, 33-31, and finally recovered to win in the final match 30-27.

"We did some good things, but there are still some things we need to work on," said Coach Sarah Raunecker. "We've pulled out games when we've needed to, but I still don't think we've played fully up to our potential. Our hitting is fine, but our defense still needs to improve if we want to advance in the NESCAC tournament, where we have a legitimate shot of being entered as a sixth, or possibly even a fifth seed."

With their latest win, the Panthers move to 9-9 on the year (3-8 in the NESCAC). They will next play three non-conference games before competing in the NESCAC tournament held on October 31 at Wesleyan College.