The Middlebury volleyball team opened the day with a 3-1 victory over Clarkson before falling a five-set heartbreaker against Rochester.
 
HIGHLIGHTS VS. CLARKSON

• Knotted at 17-17 in a tight first set, the Golden Knights reeled off eight of the final 10 points to secure a 25-19 victory for a 1-0 lead.
• The Panthers raced out to advantages of 5-1 and 14-6 in the second frame, leveling the match at a set apiece with a 25-11 victory.
• With the third set deadlocked at 2-2, Middlebury recorded an 11-4 run highlighted by three kills from Molly Harrison, to take a 13-6 edge.
• Clarkson pulled to within six (19-13) on a kill by Emma Main, but a quick 3-1 spurt propelled the Panthers to the set victory by a 25-15 score and 2-1 lead.
• Trailing 6-4 in the fourth frame, Middlebury went on a 12-3 run for a 16-9 advantage, capped by a kill from Harrison. 
• The Golden Knights never got any closer, as a service ace by Kelly Ferrero clinched the decisive point in a 25-13 triumph.

HIGHLIGHTS VS. ROCHESTER

• The Panthers grabbed an 18-14 edge in the opening stanza on a Katie Kraczkowsky service ace.
• The Yellowjackets responded, winning 11 of the last 15 points, to take the initial set 25-21 on a kill from Sonia McGaffigan.
• Even at 18-18 in the second frame, Middlebury took advantage of four hitting miscues for a 22-19 lead. Kills from Kraczkowsky, Harrison and Lauren Baxter completed the stanza and the 25-20 win.
• Down 5-2 in the third set, Rochester manufactured a 14-4 run and cruised to the 25-14 triumph for a 2-1 lead.
• In a back-and-forth fourth set, the Panthers turned an 11-7 deficit into a 19-16 lead. 
• Rochester sliced the lead to one three separate times, but a block by Harrison and Gabby Pribisich sent the contest to a fifth set.
• Trailing 9-5 in the decisive frame, Middlebury roared back to take a 14-11 edge on a setting error.
• The Yellowjackets tallied the last five points for the narrow 16-14 victory.

NOTES

• Ferrero finished with a combined 49 digs in the two matches, giving her 1,196 for her career. That total moves her into seventh place in the career record books.
• Gabbie O'Toole concluded the day with 78 assists, becoming the fifth Panther to eclipse the 2,000-career assist mark (2,022).
• Harrison continued her impressive streak, posting double-digit kills totals in each match. She has posted 10 or more kills in each of the last eight contests.
• Clarkson and Middlebury met for the eighth time, while Rochester and the Panthers squared off for the third meeting.

Middlebury remains on the road with a pair of NESCAC matches next weekend. The Panthers play Connecticut College on Friday at 7:00 p.m., followed by a 2:00 p.m. contest on Saturday at Bowdoin.