The Middlebury volleyball team staved off a comeback bid from Connecticut College to pick up a 3-1 road victory on Friday evening at Luce Field House. The match was the conference opener for both programs.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The conference foes battled in the opening stanza, splitting the first 24 points to reach a 12-12 tie. Molly Harrison headlined the Panthers with three scoring swings in the span, while Vibha Sheth and Riley Lord each logged two kills.
• Caroline Byrne recorded two successful attacks to power a 5-1 Middlebury run, building a 17-13 edge and prompting a Camel timeout.
• Connecticut College claimed 10 of the ensuing 15 points, led by a pair of Grace Anderson scoring swings to edge ahead 23-22. A service error opened the door, and the Panthers capitalized with kills from Harrison and Ava Tuccio to claim the first set, 25-23.
• After a 3-3 opening to the second session, Gabby Pribisich tallied consecutive successful attacks to put Middlebury ahead by three. A 3-0 Camel run returned the deadlock before Pribisich guided the visitors to five of the next eight points with two more kills, building an 11-9 Panther edge.
• An even split of the ensuing 12 rallies gave way to three straight Middlebury points and a 20-15 lead for the visitors. Four Panthers registered scoring swings in the final 10 points, with Molly MacDonald finding the floor twice for the 25-20 set triumph.
• In the third, Lord posted two scoring swings in the first five points to open a 4-1 Camel lead.. Rae Wartelle and Sheth combined for five kills in the next 14 points, establishing a 12-7 advantage to force a Middlebury timeout.
• The hosts kept the Panthers at bay, taking six of the next 10 points to lead 18-11. Harrison tallied a pair of accurate attacks amidst a 6-2 stint to narrow the margin to three, but Connecticut College took five of the final six to force a fourth session, 25-18.
• After building a slim 7-5 edge in the fourth set, the Camels went on a 5-1 run to lead 12-6. Harrison caught fire from outside for the visitors, notching four scoring swings in five points to trim the deficit to 13-10.
• Aubrie Letourneau and Grace Anderson combined for four Connecticut College kills to jump in front by five, 23-18.
• The Panthers flipped the script late, claiming nine of the final 11 points to swipe the final frame (27-25) and the four-set victory.

NOTES

• Harrison finished with 14 kills and 12 digs fpr her second double-double of the season.
• Pribisich posted 11 kills and four blocks, while MacDonald tallied a career-high 10 successful attacks in the triumph.
• Campbell Bartley distributed 40 assists, eclipsing the 40-helper threshold for the third time in the last four matches.
• The programs competed for the 32nd time with Middlebury owning a 24-8 advantage in the all-time series. The Panthers have won the last nine matchups against the Camels.

 
Middlebury closes its conference-opening weekend against Trinity on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.