The Middlebury volleyball team (21-5) triumphed 3-1 over host Stevens (26-6) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night in Hoboken, N.J. The Panthers are making their fifth appearance in the tournament, advancing to the second round for the first time since 2012. Middlebury will face second-ranked Trinity (Texas) on Saturday at 5:00 p.m., while #10 New York University (NYU) takes on Clarkson at 2:30 p.m. 
 
The Panthers came out strong, scoring seven unanswered points to start the opening set. The Ducks slowly chipped away at the deficit, cutting the lead to three (12-9) on a kill by Cleo Shannon. Middlebury responded with a four-point spurt, capped by a kill from Jane Nelson to make it 16-9. The Panthers continued increasing their advantage, securing the 25-18 victory on a kill by Maggie Wise.
 
Trailing 12-11 in the second set, Stevens tallied seven of the next eight points to take an 18-13 lead. Madison Sappia had a pair of service aces during the run. Middlebury answered, cutting the deficit to three (22-19) on a kill by Laney Sullivan, but the Ducks scored three of the next four points to earn the 25-20 second set triumph. 
 
In the third frame, Stevens jumped out to a 7-3 advantage with a trio of kills from Liz Patterson. The Panthers slowly cut into the lead, getting within one (12-11) after a service ace and a kill from Nelson. The teams battled back-and-forth throughout the middle of the stanza with neither team able to take a sizeable advantage. Trailing 16-15, Middlebury went on a 7-0 run to make it 22-16. Lucy Ambach and Nelson made a pair of blocks to close out the stretch. A service ace by Sappia got the Ducks within four (22-18), but that was close as they would get as the Panthers eased to the 25-19 win. 
 
The fourth and final set was a back-and-forth affair early on. Middlebury took a 13-9 edge on a killy from Sullivan, before Stevens got within two (15-13) on a pair of service aces from Sappia. The Panthers responded with a five-point spurt to take a 20-13 lead. The Ducks slowly chipped away at the advantage, getting within two (23-21) on a kill by Patterson, but Middlebury tallied the final two points of the match to secure the 25-21 victory and advance to the second round of the tournament. 
 
Wise led all players with 18 kills and dug up a team-leading 18 balls. Her 18 kills tie her for 10th on Middlebury's all-time kills list with 326 in her career. Gabbie O'Toole had a game-high 36 assists, while Kelly Ferrero had 15 digs. Ambach led all players with seven blocks, while Corley Doyle had six during the win. 
 
Patterson recorded a team-high 14 kills for Stevens, while Elizabeth Chu led all players with 21 digs. Kathleen Riegner recorded 24 assists during the match.