Volleyball Sweeps Johnson & Wales Tournament

The Middlebury women’s volleyball opened the 2013 season with four wins at the Johnson & Wales Tournament, Friday Sept. 13, and Saturday, Sept. 14. Not only did they acquire the victory over all four teams they competed against in the tournament, but they did so in dominant fashion, winning each contest in a 3-0 shutout.

Notable moments in the first game included senior Captain Amy Hart ‘14’s nine kills and Piper Underbrink ’15’s eight on 11 attempts. Further contributing to the offense was senior Captain Megan Jarchow ’14 who added seven kills and Kathryn Haderlein ‘16 who led the team with 32 assists. Defensively, Lauren Alper ’16 kept the team in points with eight digs while first-year middle hitter Melanie English ’17 finished with a pair of blocks. The Panthers made relatively easy work of the host school, dropping Johnson and Wales 25-14, 25-18, 25-19.

“Our first win felt great,” English said. “It was great for the team to start off with a solid three-set victory on the JWU’s home court.”

Jarchow shined again during the game against University of New England, the first game of a Saturday triple-header, adding nine kills and six service aces. Defensive specialist Alper excelled as well, sprawling for 15 digs on the defensive side. The Nor’Easters gave the Panthers their biggest scare in the first set, taking 21 points before Middlebury closed out the set. The Panthers surrendered just 32 points over the final two sets en route to their first victory of the day.

English had another strong performance against Wheaton College, earning eight kills and accumulating an .889 hitting percentage. Underbrink led the squad with nine kills, followed by Olivia Kolodka ’15 and English with eight apiece as Middlebury made quick work of Wheaton in three sets (18, 12, 18).

The last game of the tournament was another shutout in which senior captain Megan Anderson ’14 hit .727 with eight kills to lead the team against Mount Ida. Lizzy Reed ’15 contributed nine kills and first-years Gabi Rosenfeld ’17 and Hannah Blackburn ’17 recorded seven kills and five digs, respectively, joining English as first-year players making immediate impacts.

“Our first-year class is extremely strong this year,” Alper said. “We have two middles, an outside and a right side hitter—all front row positions—so their presence has already made an impact in the front row.”

The game-readiness of the first-year class and the improvement of the teams returners will help ease the departure of a talented senior class that included 2012 Defensive Player of the Year Caitlin Barrett ’13 as well as Second Team All-NESCAC right hitter Julia Gibbs ’13.

“We may have lost some great volleyball players, but the team really hasn’t skipped a beat,” Anderson said. “We have returners who have stepped up to fill the shoes of the graduating seniors and we have a lot of depth in our team that will allow for competitive practices.”

The 4-0 start is the first step in a season full of promise for the 2013 squad, which believes the biggest opponent to back-to-back NESCAC championships and a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance is themselves.

“There is no one particular team that we see as our greatest competitor this year,” Anderson said. “Teams change from year to year, and we have to go into every match this season with equal intensity.”

The team opens its NESCAC schedule on Saturday, Sept. 21 against Colby in Pepin Gymnasium.