Volleyball nets two wins

Author: Sarah Poling Luehrman

The Hall of Fame Classic, hosted at Mt. Holyoke last Friday and Saturday, Oct. 21 and 22, brought the Panthers four games closer to the postseason with some competitive playing under their belts.

They came away with two tough losses to Williams and Wellesley and two wins over Mt. Holyoke and Bowdoin. The tournament in addition to a Oct. 16 loss to Tufts and an Oct. 19 win over Plymouth State puts the Panthers at 6-4 within the conference and 12-9 overall.

The week leading up to the tournament was by no means a slow one for Middlebury. The Panthers traveled first to Tufts, where they lost 3-0, and then to Plymouth State University in New Hampshire on Wednesday, where they won an impressive and suspenseful five-game match 3-2. Equally exciting, however, was captain Lacee Patterson's '07 new school record for assists in a game. With 67 assists, she beat a November 2004 record of 60 by a landslide in one of her strongest games of the year, recording 25 digs while she was at it.

While most students enjoyed their fall break, the Panthers kicked off the Hall of Fame Classic Friday, Oct. 21st, with a tough loss to Wellesley, 3-0. "We let the first game go, and had we been able to finish that game, I think we might have had the confidence to really make the match more exciting and close," commented Patterson.

Head Coach Sarah Raunecker. Indeed, after a 28-30 loss in the first game and a 25-30 loss in the second game, the team let themselves unravel and dropped the third game 17-30. "We were competitive until we reached the mid 20s in both of the first two games," said Raunecker. "But then they just put it away in the third game."

Amy Heath '07 led the offense with six kills, Lindsay Patterson '09 following close behind with five, and Olivia Minkhorst '09, captain Jamie Wong '06, Lindsay Patterson '09 and Amy McCowan '08 shared the defense.

The Panthers caught a break after Wellesley with an easy 3-0 win over Mt. Holyoke on Friday, Oct. 21. Raunecker commented that the Lyons "were not a very strong team," but was glad to see everyone on the team get some time on the court, commending in particular Josie Keller '09, Kelly Nichols '09 and Georgia Jolink '06.

Four-year NESCAC Champion Williams loomed on Saturday morning, Oct. 22, and the Ephs gave Middlebury a tough match "that was more competitive than the 0-3 loss shows," according to Raunecker. "Again, we were playing fairly well at times, but we couldn't seem to finish the match once it got in the mid-20's." The Panthers lost the first game 28-30, the second 23-30 and the third 25-30, despite relatively strong offensive play. Lexie Fisher '08 scored nine kills, Jackie Edwards '06 had eigth kills, and Kate Heath '09 had six kills and Wong led the defense with 14 digs.

Though the loss was discouraging, the Panthers were able to end the weekend with a 3-1 victory over Bowdoin. The team pulled together with good blocking and a good team hitting percentage, Raunecker noted. Fisher led with 10 kills while Patterson '07, Edwards and Patterson '09 supported her with nine apiece. Wong and Patterson '07 manned the defense with 14 and 15 digs, respectively.

One non-conference match and four conference matches remain, including Williams and Colby, before NESCAC Championships, and the team hopes to smooth out some wrinkles in its game in the next two weeks.

"We are capable of playing with any team," says Raunecker, "but if we work really hard and are right in the match, or even seemingly in control heading down the stretch of a game, then we need to be able to finish it. If we do that, then we will be a serious contender for the Championship."