The Middlebury volleyball team bounced back from a straight-sets defeat against St. John Fisher with a 3-0 victory over Oswego State during Saturday's Skidmore Classic in Saratoga Springs, New York.
HIGHLIGHTS VS. ST. JOHN FISHER
- Trailing 3-1 in the lid-lifting stanza, the Panthers capped a 4-0 swing with kills from Ella Beebe and Molly Harrison to nab a 5-3 edge.
- After four alternating tallies, Ana Gutman sparked five consecutive Cardinal points and crafted a 10-7 advantage. Middlebury took seven of the ensuing 10 points, led by a pair of putaways from Harrison, to sneak back in front, 14-13.
- St. John Fisher utilized a 6-2 spurt to lead 19-16, headlined by two scoring swings from Lydia Fraser. A stalemate followed over the next six points, making the score 22-19.
- Molly MacDonald and Natalie Stanford chipped in a kill during a 5-2 stretch that tied the set at 24-24, but consecutive putaways from Kalyna Dannenberg and Gutman sealed a 26-24 decision for St. John Fisher in the opener.
- Five different Panthers tallied successful kills to help the navy and white jump out to a 9-4 advantage in the second session.
- The pendulum swung back to the St. John Fisher side of the court, as the Cardinals grabbed six of the next 10 before embarking on a 15-2 surge to finalize a 25-15 set triumph. Gutman's trio of kills headlined the late-frame statement.
- Knotted at 8-8 in the third frame, the cardinal and gold capitalized on three attack errors to move ahead by four. The Panthers parried with six of the next eight points, including a Harrison swing, to tie the bout at 14-14.
- A 7-2 stint nudged the Cardinals ahead 21-16. Fraser and Adeline Phillips each contributed a service ace in the run.
- Middlebury sliced the deficit to two by claiming five of seven points, with two accurate attacks from Stanford. Dannenberg and Fraser wrapped the match with consecutive putaways for a 25-21 score.
HIGHLIGHTS VS. OSWEGO STATE
- After the Lakers manufactured an early 6-4 lead, the Panthers rattled off six unanswered points to move in front 10-6. Stanford logged a trio of putaways over the opening 16 rallies.
- Priscilla McReynolds and Chloe Arnaiz each found the floor to guide a four-point Oswego State swing and level the set at 10-10.
- MacDonald spearheaded a pivotal Middlebury run, tallying three kills to take 10 of 13 points and lead by seven (20-13). The navy and white wrapped up the frame with a 5-2 stretch to take the set, 25-15.
- The Panthers took a 7-3 lead to begin the second session, paced by a pair of putaways from Harrison. A 5-4 division of the next nine points favored the green and gold for an 11-8 Panther edge.
- Middlebury secured five of six points before five straight Laker tallies prompted a Panther timeout (16-14). After regrouping, the navy and white stacked nine points against Oswego State's five to win the second frame by six (25-19). Eliza Lowe wound up for the decisive attack.
- The teams traded early leads in the third set to set a 12-12 deadlock.
- Alaina Dudzinski nudged the Lakers in front by one before Harrison powered an 8-0 stretch with four kills to establish a 20-13 lead.
- Two McReynolds swings helped Oswego State move within four (21-17), but Stanford and Harrison logged putaways to finalize the 25-18 set and the sweep.
NOTES
- Harrison tallied 27 kills and swung .379 along with 19 digs to secure all-tournament team honors.
- Stanford contributed 20 putaways and added four blocks.
- Chloe Cunniffe posted 41 total assists on Saturday.
- The Panthers faced the Cardinals for the fourth time and improved to 5-0 all-time against the Lakers.
Middlebury debuts in front of the Panther faithful on Wednesday, welcoming Vermont State University Castleton to Pepin Gymnasium at 6:00 p.m.
