The Middlebury women's volleyball team suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday night, falling by a score of 3-2 (18-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11) at Union (9-1). The Panthers (3-1) return to action on Friday night when they open NESCAC play against Bowdoin at 8:00 p.m. inside Pepin Gym.

After jumping out to a 1-0 lead, Union edged Middlebury in the second set to knot the match at 1-1. The Panthers hit .262 in the third set and edged the Dutchwomen by a 25-23 score. Union tied the match with a fourth-set victory, before winning the abbreviated fifth set, 15-11.

Melanie English tied a school record with nine block assists in the match, equaling Whitney Bean's effort at Skidmore in 2008. Becca Raffel finished with 16 kills and 11 digs, Isabel Sessions earned 10 kills, while Eliana Schaefer and Sarah Staver each had six. Emily Kolodka paced the defense with 21 digs, Hannah Blackburn added 18 to go along handing out 41 assists, while Raffel and Jen Ayer each collected 11 digs.

Union's Rachel Wyman's 19 kills led all players, while Ally VanDoren added 14 kills.