The Middlebury volleyball team dropped a hard-fought 3-1 decision to Saint Michael's on Tuesday evening. Two of the four sets required extra points to decide a winner.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Tied at 2-2 in the opening frame, the Panthers rattled off a quick 5-1 run for a 7-3 advantage capped on a Purple Knight attacking error.
• Saint Michael's chipped away at the deficit, pulling to within one (12-11) on a kill by Grace Almeida. 
• Middlebury secured a 20-17 advantage on a hitting miscue, but the hosts responded with eight of the final nine points of the set, winning the opener (25-21) on a kill from Alexandra Baez Rentas.
• Saint Michael's quickly grabbed a four-point lead in the second frame, surging ahead 6-2 on a kill by Almeida.
• The Panthers manufactured a 7-3 run, including a pair of kills from Gabby Pribisich to level the stanza at 9-9.
• Ahead 13-12, Saint Michael's tallied 10 of the ensuing 14 points for a 23-16 advantage on a kill from Nora Schulze.
• Middlebury came roaring back, taking a 24-23 edge on a swing from Lauren Baxter.
• The sides traded points before a pair of Panther hitting errors provided the decisive tallies in a 32-30 second-set decision for the Purple Knights.
• Even at 9-9 in the third frame, three kills from Molly Harrison and a service ace by Ella Pate fueled a 16-10 advantage for Middlebury.
• The Panthers were never challenged for the remainder of the stanza, easing to a 25-15 victory with the clinching point provided on a kill from Baxter.
• After a back-and-forth start to the fourth stanza, both teams had small leads before a kill from Pribisich gave the visitors a narrow 15-14 edge.
• Trading the next few points, the Panthers leveled the frame at 24-24 on a Saint Michael's service error.
• The sides exchanged the ensuing four points before a kill and a service ace from Almeida clinched the set (28-26) and the 3-1 victory.

NOTES

• Campbell Keller posted a career-best 27 digs to go with a pair of service aces.
• Harrison recorded her third-straight double-double this fall with a team-best 17 kills and 15 digs.
• Gabbie O'Toole tallied a service ace, giving her 118 for her career and moving her into a tie for eighth place in program history. She also handed out a season-high 49 assists and tallied 12 digs. Her 49 helpers propel her into third place in the program's career record books for assists with 2,617.
• The programs played for the 32nd time with the Panthers owning a 25-7 advantage in the series.

Middlebury returns to action on Friday at 7:00 p.m. when it squares off with host Smith in the first match of the Bonnie May Invitational.