Volleyball Battles Williams for Five Sets in Season Finale

This weekend the women’s volleyball team finished their season with matches against Amherst and Williams, ending with an overall record of 10-13 and NESCAC record of 1-9. While the Bantams fell to Amherst in three sets, they put up a hard fight against the Ephs in a five-set loss.
On Friday Oct. 28, the Bantams took on Amherst. Trinity was ahead early in the first set until Amherst went on a ten-point run to take a 16-11 lead. Amherst kept the pressure on to win the set 25-17. The second set was a battle. Collette Scheffers ’20 and Rachel Underwood ’19 kept the it close with key kills, but Amherst won the set 25-17.
Trinity only trailed by one point at 11-12 in the third set before Amherst’s offense, powered seniors Maggie Danner and Nicole Gould, led them to win the set 25-20 and match 3-0. Scheffers tallied seven kills in the match while Underwood, Wyllie Boughton ’20, and Carter Stancil ’20 had five apiece. Underwood and Grace Metry ’18 controlled the defense with 14 digs each, and senior star Randi Whitham ’17 collected 22 assists.
Saturday’s thrilling five-set match against the historically strong Williams team showcased the best of Trinity volleyball with numerous players stepping up for their last game of the season. In the first set the Ephs quickly jumped ahead to a 9-4 lead before the Bantams fought back to tie it 13-13 with timely kills from Underwood. The Ephs tried to fight back but were riddled by attack errors. The Bants took the set 25-20.
The Ephs came out with a vengeance in the second set, leading 15-9 they had an eight-point run to stretch their lead to 23-9 before taking the set 25-13. Williams carried their momentum into the third set. The Bantams led 6-4 until the Ephs went on another eight-point run to take control at 12-6. Kills from Claudia Varner ’18 helped the Bantams fight back, but the Ephs won the set 25-17.
The Bantams bounced back to win a close fourth set 25-21. Boughton played a large role with five kills in the fourth set alone. In the fifth set the Bantams took an early 4-2 lead, but four straight Trinity attack errors and a strong Williams offense put the set in favor of the Ephs. Kills from Underwood, Boughton, and Scheffers closed the gap slightly, but the Ephs went on to with the deciding set 15-10.
Rachel Hughes ’17, Shelby Deck ’17, and Whitham will leave a lasting impact on Trinity’s volleyball program. Whitham finished her career ranked fourth in the NESCAC on the season with 8.06 assists per set and top five in all time assists at Trinity, while also collecting 661 assists and 260 digs on the season. Whitham commented on her Trinity volleyball career, “This season was my favorite of my four years at Trinity. We may not have made the NESCAC tournament but I was still very happy with the outcome this year. This past weekend playing Williams was the closest we have ever come to beating them. Losing in the fifth set is always tough but everyone played amazing and it was a great game to end on.”
Hughes completed her final season with 46 kills and led the team with 14 solo blocks. She reflected on the final weekend and season, “Everyone was really clicking. It was disappointing not making the NESCAC tournament, I think everyone wanted to, but it was still a great season and we fought hard in each game.”
Deck continued her role as a crucial part of the Trinity defense in her senior season, amassing 136 digs and averaging 2.06 digs per set. Deck said, “It was nice to end the season on a high. Although we lost in 5 it was awesome seeing the team come together and play for each other. With so many underclassmen the team has lots of room for upward growth.”