Volleyball Team Caps Off Regular Season With Two Wins and Second Seed

The women’s volleyball team finished its regular season with two wins this weekend after a long week of practice leading up to two games against NESCAC rivals Bowdoin and Tufts. Middlebury wrapped up the regular season with a 19-6 record, securing the second seed in the NESCAC tournament with the win over Bowdoin.

“We knew going in to this weekend that NESCAC seedings were dependent on how we played,” said s Olivia Kolodka ’15. “We tried to focus on our own team goals instead of the circumstances surrounding the match.”

The game against Bowdoin on Friday, Oct. 26 began with a powerful national anthem performance by middle hitter Piper Underbrink 15’s mother, country singer Melanie Rosales. The performance added to the immense energy roaring in the Pepin Gymnasium crowd.

“You could tell the number of fans and the live national anthem pumped the team up and got them excited for the tough game,” said Ellie O’Brien ’14 who attended the game.

The home squad started out the first set on fire maintaining a consistent lead throughout, attesting to O’Brien’s comment.

The first set ended quickly with a decisive 25-13 win for the Panthers. The second set proved to be more of a challenge, however, and Bowdoin eventually won the set 19-25. Middlebury won the last two sets (25-21, 26-24) winning the match 3-1.

Megan Jarchow’s ‘14 spikes dominated the game with a match-high 13 kills, while Caitlin Barrett ’13’s 17 digs saved the team from multiple powerful shots from Bowdoin’s talented front hitters. Barrett’s passion for the team was infectious and apparent in her play as she threw her body left and right to save shot after shot.

The Panthers second win of the weekend occurred Saturday, Oct. 27 at home against Tufts. The squad shut down the Jumbos 3-0, clinching the NESCAC’s second seed. Tufts gave Middlebury a challenging first set that the Panthers eventually won 25-21. After a comfortable second set, which Middlebury won 25-13, the Panthers completed the sweep with a narrower 25-20 victory in the third and final set. Amy Hart ’14 and Julia Gibbs ’13 had outstanding games with nine and eight kills, respectively. Gibbs also impressed the crowd with 12 assists.

The Panthers will now prepare for the NESCAC tournament and the beginning of postseason play. They will take on Trinity in the quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 2 at Connecticut College.

The Panthers defeated the Bantams in straight sets on Oct. 13, a match in which Hart and Jarchow lead a stellar offensive attack. Hart recorded 16 kills, while Jarchow chipped in with 13 of her own.

Trinity has played at an even .500 (3-3) since its encounter with the Panthers. Middlebury, on the other hand, has found its stride, going 5-1 over the past three weeks leading up to postseason play.

Kolodka and the rest of the team bring a focused mentality into this weekend’s NESCAC contest.

“As a team we try and approach every match as an opportunity to play the best we can regardless of who is on the other side of the net,” said Kolodka. “Teams can play up or play down on any given day, and expecting a team to roll over can lead to a lack of mental discipline and a lot of unforced errors.  We will get ready for our game against Trinity the same way we do for every game — by working as hard as we can and looking to play our best.”

Connecticut College, Bowdoin and Amherst round out the rest of the formidable top-four seeds in a tournament that will be hard to predict. All eight teams involved finished the regular season at .500 or above. A champion will be crowned on Sunday.