CLINTON, N.Y. – Freshman
Katherine Randall (Chicago, Ill.) recorded a double-double and junior
Katie Gunderman (Oakland, Calif.) hit above a .600 clip as the Connecticut College volleyball team rallied from a set down twice to win a NESCAC match on the road over Hamilton by a 3-2 decision on Friday evening. The Camels came back to triumph by set scores of 22-25, 25-12, 22-25, 25-18, and 15-13.
Connecticut College blasted off early and went ahead by an 8-3 score, prompting a Continental timeout. Gunderman and Randall provided two kills apiece to lead the Camels during the surge.
The Continentals, however, fought their way back and tied the match at 12s on a Camel ballhandling error. The visitors scored the next three points, but Hamilton came back again to tie it again at 15s. Coming down the stretch and following several more deadlocks, Hamilton was able to eventually pull out the three-point win with Deirdre Corrigan most notably providing an ace and a kill at the end of the frame.
The Camels got off to another hot start in the second set, scoring the first four points, before the Continentals could get on the board courtesy of a Jane Fanning kill. A double block by sophomore
Natasha Shrivastava (San Diego, Calif.) and Gunderman made it 11-5, and a kill by Randall extended the margin to double digits at 18-8. Connecticut College went ahead by as many as 15 points thanks in large part to back-to-back aces by junior
Christina Leduc (Mendon, Mass.) and eventually won the set by 13.
Connecticut College went ahead 4-3 in the third frame before the Continentals answered with six straight, including back-to-back kills by Corrigan, to force the visitors to call a timeout in the process. The Camels challenged the hosts for the remainder of the set and tied the match twice at 18s and 21s, but they could never regain the lead. The Continentals got a kill from Kate Carman to get another three-point victory and earn back the upper hand.
For the first time of the evening, the Continentals were the team to get off to a quick start by building up a 6-2 advantage in the fourth set. Carman continued to pace her team offensively and gave the hosts a commanding 14-7 advantage, but the Camels stormed back. Utilizing the hot serving hand of Leduc, the visitors rattled off five straight to seize an 18-16 lead. Capped by a kill from Randall, the Camels ended the set on a 5-0 run to set up a deciding frame for the fourth time this season.
The final set was a back-and-forth battle which featured six ties and three lead changes. After the Camels took a 6-5 lead, the Continentals went on a 6-1 run to take control. Connecticut College stormed back and came to life again by having senior
Avery Light (Sudbury, Mass.) and Gunderman team up for two straight blocks. Gunderman came through by contributing a kill down the stretch, and Wibbelsman successfully lifted the ball over a block to clinch the victory.
Randall racked up 19 kills and 16 digs, which were career highs for the second straight game, to lead the way for Connecticut Colllege. Gunderman was equally as impressive by posting five blocks and hitting at a career-best .619 clip by recording 14 kills, also a career high, and committing only one error on 21 swings. Shrivastava also had a career performance with 48 assists, and Leduc added a double-double with 13 kills and matching a career high with 17 digs. She also had a career-best six aces. Freshman
Julia Dailey (Charlottesville, Va.) matched a team high with 17 digs.
Kate Carman registered a game-high 20 kills for Hamilton and Melissa Morelli contributed a double-double with 48 assists to go along with 13 digs. Cece Nourie had 15 digs, while Corrigan contributed 16 kills, six digs, and was one of four Continentals to drop a pair of service aces.
Connecticut College (5-8, NESCAC 2-6), which defeated the Continentals in five sets for the second time in the last three meetings between the schools, will look to remain in contention for a NESCAC postseason berth when it visits Williams tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m.
