The Middlebury volleyball team surged back to force a fifth set but could not pull off the reverse sweep in a 3-2 setback against Hamilton on Saturday. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Panthers raced out of the gates in the opening stanza, building a 5-1 edge with kills from Molly Harrison and Devin McCormack followed by a Gabbie O'Toole service ace. Hamilton clawed back by winning five out of the next seven points to tie things at seven apiece.
• The back and forth continued throughout until the 11-11 mark when a Panther service error and attack error gave the Continentals their first lead of the set (13-11). 
• The advantage continued to grow for the home team, as another Middlebury miscue capped off seven of 11 points to put Hamilton ahead by five (21-16) and force a stoppage.
• Ava Tuccio cut the deficit to three with her fourth kill of the set before Claire Cooper and Elodie McGeiver recorded back-to-back attacks to seal the opener, 25-20.
• Both sides battled for momentum by splitting the first 12 points of the second frame. Hamilton responded immediately, breaking the deadlock with three-consecutive points to jolt ahead, 9-6.
• The lead continued to grow for the Continentals, eventually jumping up to six (18-13) with three kills coming from Drew Stimson. 
• Harrison provided a much-needed spark for the Panthers, as her kill started a 6-2 run to make it 20-18. 
• The momentum continued to be on Middlebury's side with a block from Harrison and Gabby Pribisich, knotting things at 23. Hamilton once again weathered the storm, taking the final two points for a 25-23 victory.
• A switch flipped for the Panthers to begin the third as Lillian Caldwell and Harrison combined for five kills to help push the team ahead, 9-3.
• Hamilton whittled the deficit down to three (9-6) before the Panther lead ballooned back up to six behind three Continental errors and an O'Toole kill. 
• That would be as close as the home team got in the stanza, as Harrison tallied consecutive kills to clinch the set by a 25-16 score.
• Each team jockeyed for position in the fourth, splitting the first 24 points until McCormack, Tuccio and Harrison tallied kills as part of a 4-0 spurt to make it 16-12.
• Stimson continued to keep the Continentals in contention with three kills in a six-point span to jump within one (17-16).
• The Panthers though stood their ground, winning eight of the next 10 points to push the match to a decisive fifth with a 25-18 set win. Pribisich had three total blocks in that span.
• Neither team gave an inch in the fifth which featured eight ties Hamilton pulled off the win, using two kills from Stimson to clinch the match.

NOTES

• Harrison tallied 18 kills in Saturday's setback, moving her into eighth place all-time in kills in a single season with 331.
• Caldwell put up a new career-best 15 successful attacks.
• O'Toole has recorded 18 matches with 30 or more assists this season.
• Pribisich had a career-best eight blocks.
• Saturday's contest was the 28th all-time meeting between the Panthers and Continentals. 

The seedings and schedule for the NESCAC Tournament will be released in the coming days.