Williams Downs Bowdoin 3-1 in Volleyball Quarterfinals at Tufts
Courtesy Tufts Sports Information
MEDFORD, Mass. - The second-seeded Williams College Ephs dispatched the seventh-seeded Bowdoin College Polar Bears 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-12) in the quarterfinals of the 2009 NESCAC Volleyball Championship on Friday evening at Chase Gymnasium on the campus of Tufts University.
The underdog Polar Bears came out of the gates strong and were able to steal the first set of the match 25-23. Bowdoin would keep it close at the start of the second set, but Williams would begin to distance themselves en route to three consecutive set victories.
By the fourth set the Polar Bears did not have much left in the tank as the Ephs built a 20-6 lead and completed the match victory with a 25-12 fourth-set win.
The Ephs were led by junior Kate Anderson (Berlin, Mass.), who tallied a match-high 16 kills. Senior Chelsea Kubal (Atherton, Calif.) played well with seven digs and also chipped in nine kills. Sophomore Ally McKinnon (Potola Valley, Calif.) was a strong server with five aces and junior Emily Avis (Palo Alto, Calif.) recorded 46 assists to go with five digs and one ace.
Senior Gillian Page (Mercer Island, Wash.) and first-year Melissa Haskell (Medfield, Mass.) led the Polar Bears with eight kills and two service aces each. Sophomore Jillian Berkman (Nashville, Tenn.) chipped in with a match-high 37 digs and one service ace. Senior Jenna Diggs (La Jolla, Calif.) and first-year Stephanie Bond (Lexington, Mass.) each had 16 assists.
With the victory Williams improves to 19-8 overall on the season and will take on either Connecticut College or Trinity College in the NESCAC semifinals on Saturday afternoon at Cousens Gymansium. Bowdoin finishes the 2009 season at 19-11.
