The second-seeded Middlebury volleyball team claimed its sixth NESCAC Championship with an exciting five-set victory over #14/top-seeded Colby on Saturday. The Panthers earn their sixth conference crown and the first title since 2016. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Ahead 5-4 in the opening set, the Mules put together a 5-0 run to take a 10-4 lead on a Middlebury hitting error.
• The Panthers slowly chipped away at the deficit, moving to within two (11-9) on a kill from Ava Tuccio.
• Colby ripped off 10 of the next 12 points and eased to the 25-14 win.
• Maintaining a 4-3 edge in the second frame, Middlebury rattled off a 14-4 run for an 18-7 advantage capped on a Mule hitting miscue.
• Colby pulled to within eight (18-10) on a kill by Brady Moseley, but the Panthers responded with a 5-1 spurt and leveled the match at a set apiece.
• Deadlocked at 10-10 in the third stanza, the teams traded small runs before a kill by Tuccio gave the Panthers a 20-17 lead and forced a Colby timeout.
• Following the stoppage, the hosts battled back to even the frame at 21-21 on a block by Sydney Bopp and Sarah Friedrichs.
• Middlebury claimed four of the last five points, capped by a block from Tuccio and Molly Harrison, to secure the 25-22 win.
• After splitting the first eight points in the fourth stanza, the Mules posted a 9-2 run, highlighted by four kills from Moseley to grab a 13-6 edge.
• The Panthers clawed back to within four (14-10) on a Colby attacking error, but the Mules ripped off a 7-1 spurt and won the set 25-16.
• In the decisive fifth frame, neither side led by more than two points early until a kill by LJ Grant put Colby ahead 12-9.
• The teams traded the next few points, before a kill by Harrison and a Colby setting error tied the set at 14 points apiece. 
• The Panthers gained a one-point lead (15-14) on a Mule attacking miscue before a long rally that ended with a kill by Harrison propelled Middlebury to the title. 

NOTES

• Tuccio finished with a career-best 15 kills and added five blocks during the triumph.
• Harrison posted her 19th double-double of the campaign with 16 kills and 15 digs. She has 379 kills this fall, moving her into second place in the program's single-season records.
• Gabbie O'Toole dished out 38 assists, giving her 955 this season which is seventh in program history.
• Annabella Rando has tallied 10 or more digs in 21-straight contests, including 24 this evening.
• The programs played for the second time this season and the 40th overall with the Panthers owning a 27-13 advantage. The sides have played four times in the NESCAC Tournament with Middlebury claiming a victory in all of those matchups.
• The Panthers last title came in 2016, a five-set win in a battle of the top-two seeds. Saturday's contest was the sixth five-set championship match since 1999 and the first since 2019.

The Panthers receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and wait for their opponent when the field is announced on Monday at 1:00 p.m.