Women’s Volleyball Downed by 2021 NCAA Squad Middlebury in Home Opener

COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Saint Michael’s College women’s volleyball team opened its home slate by losing to regional heavyweight Middlebury College, 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-22), on Tuesday evening in the Ross Sports Center. The Panthers, who qualified for the 2021 NCAA Division III Tournament, received votes toward the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III preseason national poll.

RECORDS

• Saint Michael’s (1-7), Middlebury (1-0)

SAINT MICHAEL’S LEADERS

• Junior Haley Stanton (Nashua, N.H./Nashua North), 5 kills
• First-year Ella Patterson (Folsom, Calif./Vista Del Lago), 4 kills, 9 digs
• First-year Dana Welch (Howell, N.J./Donovan Catholic), 4 kills, 7 digs, 1 block
• Senior Beth Syverson (Huntington, Vt./Mount Mansfield Union/Emmanuel [Mass.]), 4 kills, 1 block
• Sophomore Alexandra Báez Rentas (San Juan, Puerto Rico/New Dimensions), 17 assists, 8 digs, 3 kills
• Sophomore Aaliyah Huihui-Martinez (Salinas, Calif./Notre Dame), 16 digs, 4 assists
• Senior Maddie Van Winkle (Medford, Mass./Arlington Catholic), 11 digs, 2 aces

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Junior Katie Kraczkowsky, 10 kills, 7 digs
• Junior Lexi Linafelter, 8 kills
• Sophomore Gabbie O’Toole, 25 assists, 9 digs
• Junior Kelly Ferrero, 20 digs, 4 assists, 3 aces
• Junior Britt Lange, 13 digs

MATCH FACTS

• The Purple Knights played their third consecutive opponent that was ranked regionally by the NCAA to close out the 2021 season.
• Middlebury held a 59-53 digs edge.

THE ACTION

• The teams played through nine ties in the opening set, with neither leading by more than two points until the late stages. Patterson dropped a kill to bring Saint Michael’s within 15-14, but kills by Kraczkowsky and Linafelter keyed an 8-1 run. Junior Caitlin O’Connor (Bourne, Mass./Bourne) had a kill and an ace in a 3-1 response, but the hosts came no closer.
• Patterson notched a kill for the opening point of set No. 2, and the teams were tied at two before the Panthers broke away with six straight points. The hosts never again trailed by fewer than five points.
• The third set featured six ties and five lead swings, with Middlebury leading 6-3 on O’Toole’s kill before Syverson had a kill and Van Winkle an ace in a 5-0 response. Senior Caroline Curley‘s (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) kill pushed the Purple Knights into a 16-12 lead, and Báez Rentas’ kill had her team up 18-15. Middlebury countered with a go-ahead 4-0 run, but Saint Michael’s came back with four straight points of its own, thanks in part to a Syverson kill and…