Volleyball (12-8, 3-5 NESCAC) faced Babson (20-3) and No. 25 Springfield College (21-3) on the second day of the New England Challenge and split the day’s results, defeating Babson 3-1 and falling to Springfield 3-2.
In their first match of the day, the Ephs earned a win over the Babson Beavers in four sets. The Ephs dominated the final set from start to finish, jumping out to an early 10-2 lead after a double block from co-captain Caroline Tosolini ’24 and Sydney Eyestone ’26. Although Babson put together a 7-1 streak to pull within three, the Ephs got back on track and won eight of the last nine points to secure the fourth set 25-15 with an ace from co-captain Celia Adams ’24.
The two teams were evenly matched to begin the first set, but the Ephs caught fire with a 10-1 run that turned a 5-4 deficit into a 14-6 advantage in the blink of an eye. The Beavers never again got within five points, and the Ephs claimed the first set 25-14 after a double block from Tosolini and Adams.
The Ephs once again got off to a hot start in the second set, jumping out to an early 12-3 lead behind three kills in four points from Eyestone. Although Babson won four points in a row to somewhat narrow the gap, the Ephs pushed onward and won the second set 25-14 after back to back powerful kills from Keely Campuzano ’27.
A fast start in the third set for the Ephs would not last this time, though, as an 8-3 advantage quickly turned into a 13-10 deficit behind some inspired play from the Beavers. But the Ephs wouldn’t back down and retook the lead at 20-19 after winning five out of six points. Babson would ultimately beat the Ephs to the end and claimed the third set 25-23.
Babson leaders were Erin Gray with 18 kills, Zoe Ackerman with 22 assists, and Roz Cabuena with 22 digs. Adams led the Ephs with 17 kills, alongside Lauren Kauppila ’24 with 29 assists, and Sidra Wohlwend ’25 with 21 digs.
Williams came up just short in its second match of the day, falling to the No. 25 Springfield Pride (21-3) in five sets. The Ephs established a 6-3 advantage early in the fifth set, but the Pride proceeded to win six out of the next seven points to set up a 9-7 lead of their own. From there, Springfield continued onward to a 14-10 advantage, and although the Ephs saved two match points, the third time was the charm for the Pride as they secured the fifth set 15-12.
The first set started out almost perfectly even, as there were already nine ties between the two teams by the time the score hit 10-10. Co-captain Marit Hoyem ’24 got the Ephs rolling with a powerful kill from the middle and the Ephs never looked back from there, winning 14 of the last 18 points to secure the first set 25-14. Williams was nearly unstoppable on offense in the set, recording a .414 hitting percentage with 15 kills to only three errors.
[Editor’s note: Hoyem is an editor-at-large for the Record and was not involved in the writing or editing of this piece.]
The second set featured very similar action to the first, as the Ephs and Pride were once again deadlocked at 10-10. In a case of déjà vu, Hoyem put the Ephs in front 11-10, a lead that they would not relinquish as they rolled to a 25-17 second set victory. Senior duo Adams and Hoyem led the way for the Ephs as they combined for 11 kills in the set, more than the entire Springfield team.
The Ephs held a slim advantage going into the third set, but a 9-8 lead quickly turned into a 14-9 deficit as the Pride recorded six points in a row. Although the Ephs would battle back and eventually tie the score at 14-14 after a service ace from Kauppila, the rest of the set was dominated by the Pride as they surged to a 25-17 third set win.
The Williams team quickly established itself in the fourth set with back-to-back aces from Kauppila, but the action quickly evened out as neither team was able to gain much separation. Campuzano gave the Ephs a 11-10 lead with a powerful kill from the right side, though the two teams continued to trade punches back and forth. The Pride held a 23-21 lead late, but the Ephs won the next three points in a row to set up a match point up 24-23. Nevertheless, it was the Pride that emerged victorious from an extended fourth set 31-29, forcing a deciding fifth set between the two teams.
Riley Donahue led Springfield with 23 kills, following Tori Colosimo with 43 assists and Ally Townsend with 23 digs. Adams again led the Ephs with 22 kills, supported by Kauppila with 32 assists and Wohlwend with 18 digs.
“I thought the team bounced back really well against Babson to start the day,” head coach Christi Kelsey said. “We focused on a few key skill adjustments, and the team stepped up in their overall execution of those skills. I also was proud of how incredibly confident and focused we were from start to finish in that match.”
“As for Springfield, the first two sets we were really locked in and stayed pretty consistent in our execution, both on the offensive side of the ball and defensively too from point-to-point,” she continued. “To Springfield’s credit, they battled back and put pressure on us in the third, and we certainly had some opportunities in the fourth set as well to capitalize. We just didn’t execute as consistently as we could have.”
“I really think we found out a lot about ourselves over the month of October, and hopefully we can stay in a mentally and physically strong place as we head toward the end of the regular season,” she said. “If we can put all these pieces together, I think we have an incredibly strong team of 17 and we put ourselves in the best possible position to compete next weekend. I 100% believe this group will be ready.”
The Ephs will be back in action in Chandler Gymnasium at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 27, when they host Colby (16-6, 6-2 NESCAC) for their Senior Day celebration.