Volleyball (16-6, 5-3 NESCAC) concluded their weekend with a 1-2 record at the New England Challenge in Springfield, Mass. The Ephs won an exciting 3-2 match against the Springfield College Pride (21-5) on Friday night before dropping two consecutive matches on Saturday against the Babson Beavers (17-5) the No. 16 MIT Engineers (21-3), 3-1 and 3-0 respectively.
After a 10-0 start to the season, the Ephs have faced tougher competition in recent weeks, including hard-fought losses to the No. 13 Colby Mules (19-2, 7-1 NESCAC) and NESCAC leaders No. 17 Wesleyan Cardinals (18-1, 8-0 NESCAC). All of the Ephs’ opponents at the New England Challenge were ranked in the top 30 of the NCAA’s Div. III National Rankings.
MIT and Babson were especially impressive competitors, Morgan Daetz ’27 said. “Credit where credit is due,” she said. “Babson and MIT are incredibly strong, well-oiled machines. They were just picking up things that I thought were down. And it’s frustrating when you think that something’s going to end in a point.”
The Ephs struggled to regain their stride after losing momentum during both matches, according to Annaliese Fricke ’26. “I think we faced getting into ruts and then not being able to get ourselves out of them, [such as] losing a lot of points in a row and making unforced errors right when we get a point back,” she said.
The Ephs have also grappled with a slew of injuries this season, especially among their senior class. Fricke was one of many sidelined for most of the fall after breaking her hand on the first day of practice, she said. “That really sucked, but it gave me valuable reflection moments to come back [to] and be really grateful for the small amount of time we have left,” Fricke said. Indeed, Fricke made the most of this weekend’s tournament, recording the joint-highest number of kills among the Ephs and earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Fricke’s performance was one of the team’s many positive takeaways from the weekend. Daetz said that the Ephs’ camaraderie shone through at the tournament, despite the stiff competition. “Something that we’ve talked about a lot on our team is chemistry, and I think we did a good job working together through tough moments,” she said. “We didn’t split off, which was where we’ve run into problems in prior seasons, and that’s definitely something we’ve been focusing on as a team.”
Additionally, the team’s depth was on full display throughout the tournament. The three matches played allowed plenty of opportunities for various players to make a mark. “We ran through a lot of different lineups throughout the weekend, and everyone was very prepared to play, even if they hadn’t been starters,” Daetz said. “I think that’s a very good testament to the depth of our roster.”
Individually, Eve Kaplan ’29 led the team in digs over the weekend. Her performance attracted rave reviews from her teammates. “She’s really good,” Fricke said. “Someone hits the ball the hardest you’ve ever seen in your life … and she digs it perfectly.”
Daetz added that Kaplan is known for her enthusiasm. “You know it’s game time when Eve steps on,” she said.
Volleyball’s regular season concludes this week with a senior night game against Hamilton (7-10, 1-7 NESCAC) on Friday and a Homecoming rivalry game against Amherst (7-8, 2-6 NESCAC) the following day.
Senior night will focus on celebrating the four graduating captains — Fricke, Kami Israelski ’26, Sydney Eyestone ’26, and Helen Qian ’26. “[The seniors] are all such big parts of the program and have really made the culture what it is,” Kaplan said.
The Ephs hope to host the first round of NESCAC playoffs after their regular season concludes. If they win, they will head to the next round of NESCAC playoffs the following weekend, where they hope to secure a bid to the Div. III NCAA Tournament beginning on Dec. 3 in Bloomington, Ill.
