The Middlebury volleyball team had a strong showing at the Bonnie May Invitational, finishing with a 2-1 mark. The Panthers fell to host Smith in a five-set battle on Friday evening before knocking off both #18 Wesleyan and Gallaudet in four sets to close the weekend on Saturday.
 
FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS VS. SMITH

• Middlebury jumped ahead early in the opening set, using four kills by Ava Tuccio to help build an 8-4 advantage and force a Smith timeout. 
• The Panthers continued to increase their lead, as a Pioneer ball handling and attack error gave the visitors an eight-point cushion (16-8). Smith began to chip away at the deficit by winning three out of the next four points on a kill by Abby Hunt and two Middlebury attack errors to get within six. 
• Smith would not get any closer, as a Gabbie O'Toole block sparked a 5-1 run capped by a stuff from Gabby Pribisich to seal the opening set 25-14.
• The home team opened the second stanza with consecutive service aces by Sarah Dankovich and jumped ahead, 5-0. Middlebury would counter, using a Molly Harrison kill to begin a 6-3 run and tie things at 8-8.
• The Pioneers immediately grabbed the momentum back in the second set, ripping off an 11-3 burst with two more service aces by Dankovich and kills by Taylor Gwynne and Abby Sweeney to make it 19-11. 
• Middlebury got as close as four on an O'Toole kill (21-17) before a combo block from Anna Feuer and Gwynne gave Smith the second set by a 25-17 score. 
• Smith came out firing in the third frame, jumping out to a 15-4 advantage led by two kills from Olivia Teske and three Pioneer service aces on its way to a 25-14 victory
• Level at 5-5 in the fourth stanza, a kill each by Addison Klunder and Sweeney plus a Panther ball handling error pushed Smith ahead, 8-5. Middlebury recovered with a 5-0 led by back-to-back kills by Harrison to take a 14-11 lead.
• Middlebury and Smith went back and forth with the Pioneers cutting the deficit to one (22-21) on another ace by Dankovich, but a Smith service error gave the Panthers the set (25-22) and sent the match into a winner-take-all fifth. 
• Harrison and Tuccio provided the early jolt for the Panthers along with an ace by Annabella Rando to charge ahead, 6-2.
• Devin McCormack continued the run with her sixth kill of the match paired with a Pioneer attack error to earn its largest lead of the set at 9-3. 
• The Pioneers closed out the match on a 9-0 run, capped by a Gwynne service ace, for the final 15-13 score.

SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS VS. WESLEYAN

• The Cardinals secured a 10-5 advantage in the opening set highlighted by three kills by Sophie Corbeil.
• Middlebury rallied later in the set, recording a 5-1 burst headlined by back-to-back kills by Harrison to pull ahead 25-24. Wesleyan closed out the opener, winning three-consecutive points to take the stanza, 27-25.
• The energy flipped back toward the Panthers in the second frame, using an 8-2 run sparked by two more aces from Campbell Keller, forcing a Cardinal timeout.
• Wesleyan pushed back into the set late on a successful attack from Ella Blair to cut the deficit to four (19-15). That would be as close as the Cardinals got, with a Keller service ace capping four-consecutive points for the Panthers, and closing the set 25-16.
• Middlebury continued the momentum swing in the third, as a Cardinal service error started an 8-0 spurt to claim an 11-5 edge. 
• A Panther service error and consecutive aces by Lila Sayre helped get Wesleyan within three (18-15) before Harrison and Tuccio recorded kills to help rebuild a six-point cushion at 21-15. Baxter closed out the third frame with a kill to put Middlebury up 2-1.
• Harrison, Pribisich, and Tuccio led the charge in the fourth, combining for eight kills, to push the Panthers ahead 12-3. 
• Wesleyan got as close as five at 13-8 before three kills by Baxter and a service ace by O'Toole helped rebuild Middlebury's lead to a set-high of 13 (23-10). 
• The Cardinals put in one final gasp with a 4-0 run before Harrison and Prisbisch slammed back-to-back kills to take the fourth (25-14) and secure the upset.

SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS VS. GALLAUDET

• Tied at 6-6, three-consecutive attacks and a service ace by Citrine Lummer gave Gallaudet a 10-6 lead. 
• Middlebury fell behind as much as seven (17-10) but rallied to get within four on two kills by Harrison and a Bison attack error. 
• Gallaudet wouldn't let the Panthers get any closer, finishing the set on a 5-2 run capped off with a kill by Anya Pothorski to secure the opener, 25-17.
• The visitors flipped the script in the second frame with a 12-5 run to open the set. Pribisich led the attack with two kills while Caroline Byrne had a service ace. 
• The Bison pushed back against the momentum wave, cutting the deficit down to four (18-14) thanks to three Panther attack errors and a kill by Lummer. But Middlebury stayed the course, using a Tuccio kill to seal the second by a score of 25-21.
• Gallaudet and Middlebury battled for the upper hand early in the third stanza, before.the Panthers used a 9-2 run to surge ahead by a 17-10 margin.
• Tuccio and Harrison kept the pedal down for the offense with four kills combined to give Middlebury its largest lead at 10 (22-12).  Baxter sealed the third with a kill, clinching the set 25-16 and putting the Panthers in the driver's seat heading into the fourth.
• Level at 9-9, Middlebury continued to rise with a Bison attack error sparking a 6-0 run that included a kill by Sophie Fisher to slide ahead, 16-10.
• Gallaudet rallied to get within four (18-14),but it could not get any closer in the set, as a Sophie Fisher kill paired with a service error by the Bison gave Middlebury the set (25-19) and the four-set triumph.

NOTES

• O'Toole had nine aces over three matches, propelling her in sole possession of eighth place in the program's history with 127.
• Harrison had 48 kills and 33 digs on the weekend, including a season-high 19 successful attacks and 15 digs against Wesleyan.
• Middlebury tallied 17 service aces against the Cardinals, its most in a match since 2013.
• The Panthers squared off with Smith for the fifth time in program history and snapped a seven-match losing streak to Wesleyan. Middlebury and Gallaudet played for the first time in women's volleyball. 

The Panthers open NESCAC action with its first of four-consecutive home matches next weekend. Middlebury welcomes Connecticut College on Friday at 7:00 p.m. before battling Trinity on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.