The fourth-seeded Middlebury volleyball team (20-5) fell to fifth-seeded Amherst 3-2 in a NESCAC Quarterfinal match on Friday evening at top-seeded Bowdoin. The Panthers made their 22nd tournament appearance, qualifying for every conference championship. Middlebury will wait for the NCAA selection show on Monday at 12:30 p.m. to find out if it earns a bid to the tournament, while the Mammoths (16-4)  take on the Polar Bears in a semifinal match on Saturday. 
 
Amherst started the opening set with a service ace by Carly Cooper and slowly increased the lead to 10-5. Middlebury scored five-straight points to knot the match at 10 points apiece, capped by a pair of service aces from Gabbie O'Toole. The Mammoths responded with an 8-3 run to take an 18-13 advantage. Middlebury tallied seven unanswered points, taking its first lead of the set (21-18). The run was highlighted by a trio of kills from Corley Doyle. Amherst got within three points on two occasions before a kill from Maggie Wise secured the 25-21 victory for the Panthers. 
 
Amherst scored the first pair of points in the second frame, before Middlebury tallied six of the next seven points to take a 6-3 edge. The Panthers never trailed again in the set, slowly increasing their lead to 21-13. Back-to-back service aces from O'Toole set Middlebury up for match point (24-15). The Mammoths responded with a pair points, but O'Toole closed out the frame with a kill for the 25-17 final score. 
 
Middlebury jumped out to a 4-1 early lead in the third set, before Amherst knotted the match at eight points apiece. The match was tied at 10-10 and 15-15, before Wise made it 17-17 with her 300th kill of the season. The teams continued to battle, with the Panthers taking a 22-20 edge on a pair of kills from Laney Sullivan. The Mammoths scored four-straight points to make it 24-22, before a kill from Caroline Tilton secured the 25-23 win for Amherst.  
 
Knotted 7-7 in the fourth set, the Mammoths tallied seven-straight points to take their largest lead of the evening (14-7). Trailing 20-10, Middlebury slowly chipped away at the deficit, cutting the advantage to 23-18. That was as close as the Panthers would get, as Amherst held on for the 25-20 victory to force a fifth set. 
 
In the final frame, Middlebury jumped out to an early 4-1 advantage. Amherst responded with a 6-0 run and never looked back en route to a 15-8 victory to secure a spot in the semifinals. 
 
O'Toole was phenomenal for the Panthers, leading all players with a career-high 58 assists, while recording a team-high four service aces. Kelly Ferrero dug up a match-high 41 balls, while Wise led the team with 22 kills. Doyle had 12 kills and three blocks.
 
Tilton led all players with 23 kills, while Cooper dished out an impressive 49 assists. Jamie Dailey had 35 digs during the match.