NEW LONDON, Conn. — The Connecticut College women's volleyball team came up on the short end of a five-set NESCAC showdown against Williams College on Saturday afternoon at Luce Field House.
The Camels rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to force the deciding set, only to see the Ephs right the ship late. Williams recorded 11 of its 50 kills in the fifth set alone, winning by set scores of 25-21, 25-23, 15-25, 13-25 and 15-9 to remain undefeated at 9-0 overall (2-0 NESCAC).
Rae Wartelle (Tacoma, Wash.) and
Grace Anderson (Pawling, N.Y.) paced Conn's offense with 12 kills apiece, and
Riley Lord (Exeter, N.H.) chipped in 10. Chi Obi led the Ephs with a match-high 13 kills.
Williams never trailed in the opening set and led by as many as six, but a 4-0 run brought Conn back within striking distance at 17-15. Later, Keely Campuzano added a pair of kills to help wrap up the set, giving the Ephs the early 1-0 advantage.
In the second set, Conn led 23-21 but couldn't close it out. Williams captured the next four points, getting another big kill from Campuzano and a service ace by Tatum Baker to close out the frame.
The Camels raced out to a 14-7 lead in the third set as Lord, Anderson and Wartelle supplied four kills apiece. Conn was even more dominant in the fourth, closing with six straight points to extend the match.
The hosts grabbed a 4-2 lead in the fifth set behind kills by Anderson and Lord, along with a service ace by
Taylor Merrifield (Honolulu, Hawaii). However, the Ephs countered with a 3-0 spurt to pull in front, and they went on to win eight of the final 10 points to cement the victory. Helen Qian led the charge with three kills for Williams in the stanza.
Aubrie Letourneau (Mattapoisett, Mass.) supplied 42 assists for the second consecutive match, and Merrifield and Lord led Conn's defense with 12 digs each. At the net, Wartelle finished with two solo blocks and nine block assists as the Camels amassed a season-high 12 team blocks.
Conn (4-5 overall, 0-2 NESCAC) will next play at Trinity College on Friday, September 26 at 6:00 p.m.
