The Middlebury College women's volleyball team had a big week as they hosted a NESCAC weekend in Pepin Gym. The Panthers won all three matches and are now 5-1 in NESCAC play this season.
Middlebury cruised to a 3-0 win over Bates on Friday night to start the weekend. Junior Lindsay Patterson (Aspen, Colo.) had 12 kills in the match, while senior Lexie Fisher (San Francisco, Calif.) had nine. Sophomore Natalie DuPre (Louisville, Ky.) had 19 digs in the match, while Fisher added 13.
The Panthers began Saturday with an impressive come-from-behind victory over Bowdoin. Middlebury trailed 2-0 and were down late in the third set, before coming back to win three straight. Fisher had 18 kills in the match, followed by junior Kate Heath (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) with 13 and Patterson with 10. Five players had doubles figures in digs, led by first-year player Lauren Barrett (Medfield, Mass.) with 19, DuPre with 16 and sophomore Reisa Bloch (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) with 15. Barrett had 43 assists in the win, while first-year player Whitney Bean (Waukee, Iowa) had 5.5 blocks.
In the weekend finale, Colby squeaked out a win in the fourth set, setting up a fifth and final set where Middlebury came away with a 16-14 win. Fisher was huge for Middlebury with 22 kills in the match, followed by junior Josie Keller (York, Pa.) with 10. Fisher also had 24 digs, followed by DuPre with 23 and Barrett, who had 19 along with 49 assists.
