The Middlebury volleyball team dropped its Saturday contests against seventh-ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Springfield to conclude the two-day New England Challenge.
HIGHLIGHTS VS. #7 MIT
- Knotted at 3-3 in the opening set, the Engineers pulled away with a 5-0 run led by a trio of service aces from Sophia Song.
- The Panthers parried with three unanswered points, capped by a Gabby Pribisich and Chloe Cunniffe block assist, to trim the deficit to 8-6. MIT answered with a 6-0 surge that included two aces by Eileen Sadati, crafting a 14-6 advantage and prompting a Middlebury timeout.
- Molly Harrison put down consecutive kills to pull the navy and white within six (15-9), but the Engineers rattled off four in a row to lead 24-13.
- The Panthers denied three set points behind a Cunniffe kill and a Caroline Byne ace before Julia Tolstova found the floor to close the stanza at 25-16.
- MIT and Middlebury battled to a 5-5 tie early in the second set until two Sadati swings buoyed a 7-2 stint for a 12-7 Engineer edge.
- Harrison found the floor on three occasions to help the navy and white narrowly outpace its foe over the ensuing 13 points (7-6), cutting the deficit to four at 18-14. Four unanswered tallies extended MIT's lead to 22-14.
- Pribisich and Harrison helped the Panthers storm back with five straight points, dicing the deficit to 22-19. Each half of the duo logged an additional kill across the final five rallies, but Tolstova again logged the decisive attack to seal a 25-21 decision.
- The Engineers ran away with the final session, earning a 25-10 win to seal the sweep.
HIGHLIGHTS VS. SPRINGFIELD
- The Panthers and Pride arrived at a 6-6 split in the lidlifter before Springfield claimed three of the next four tallies to lead 9-7. Harrison powered a four-point swing with two putaways to swing the pendulum in Middlebury's direction (11-9) and prompt a Pride timeout.
- The breather proved impactful as Springfield took seven of the next 10 rallies. Jodi Saelua thumped the floor twice to push her side back in front by a 16-14 score.
- Despite three Harrison kills over the final 15 points, the Pride fended off a potential late comeback with a 9-7 stretch to claim a 25-21 win. Ahunna James posted two accurate attacks in the spurt.
- Trailing 7-5 in the second session, the navy and white found a rhythm with seven of the ensuing nine tallies to lead by three (12-9). Molly MacDonald and Pribisich headlined the swing with two kills each.
- Gabbie Weissgarber helped restore a two-point edge (16-14) with two putaways amidst a 7-2 stretch. After a Panther stoppage, Middlebury rattled off an 8-3 run that brought the squad within three points of victory at 22-19; Pribisich and Natalie Stanford paced the jolt with two kills apiece.
- An 8-3 surge, including the final three tallies, granted the Pride a 27-25 decision. Sophie Chevalier contributed to the closeout with two swings.
- The navy and white darted out to a 7-1 lead in the third stanza with four different Panthers recording attacks. James helped cut into the deficit with two kills and a service ace, bringing the score to 10-6, but Harrison and Pribisich joined forces for five accurate looks to spark a 7-1 run and move ahead 17-7.
- Stanford helped close the third frame with a trio of kills en route to a 25-12 triumph.
- After Middlebury built a 4-3 lead early in the fourth set, Springfield embarked on a 13-1 run to move in front, 17-4. Alexa Bonato headlined the stretch with four kills.
- An even 8-8 division of the final 16 points gave the Pride a 25-12 victory and the 3-1 triumph. MacDonald piled up five kills over the final stretch.
NOTES
- Cunniffe totaled 66 assists and 18 digs across Saturday's matches, including a career-high 45 helpers against Springfield.
- Harrison spearheaded the hitters with 27 kills, including 16 and 12 digs in the nightcap to move into a tie for second in program history in career kills (1,304) and appeared in her 100th career match. She joined Stanford (14 kills, 12 digs) with a double-double against the Pride.
- Rando surpassed 100 career service aces against MIT.
- Stanford was named to the all-tournament team after tallying 36 kills over three matches.
- The Panthers clashed with the Engineers and Pride for the 15th time each.
Middlebury hosts the penultimate contest of its regular season against Connecticut College on Friday at 7:00 p.m. The match will also serve as the team's Senior Day.
