LEWISTON, Maine — A streak more than a quarter-century in the making came to an end Saturday afternoon at Underhill Arena.
The Bates College volleyball team defeated Williams College for the first time since Oct. 23, 1999, earning a 3-1 (25-20, 18-25, 25-17, 25-14) victory in the NESCAC opener for the Bobcats.
Bates remained undefeated at 7-0 overall and moved to 1-0 in conference play. Williams, which entered Saturday coming off a road victory over No. 17 Tufts Friday night, fell to 6-3 overall and 1-1 in the NESCAC.
Elle Faris (Fy.) led the Bobcats with 11 kills on just 18 swings, hitting .333 while adding 10 digs and three service aces. Sofia Castiglioni (Sr.) turned in another efficient performance with 10 kills and no errors on 22 attempts for a .455 hitting percentage, while also contributing six block assists. Anaïs Reneaum (Jr.) added seven kills and Kate Norry (Jr.) finished with six.
Bates came out quickly in the opening set, racing to an 8-1 advantage behind a pair of kills from Faris, a kill from Castiglioni and a Malina Young (Jr.) service ace. Williams eventually cut the deficit to 16-11, but the Bobcats never allowed the Ephs closer than four the rest of the way. Norry delivered Bates' final two kills, including the set-clincher in a 25-20 victory.
Williams answered in the second. With the score tied 6-6, the Ephs reeled off six straight points behind the serve of Eve Kaplan (So.) to take a 12-6 lead. Bates later cut the deficit to three at 19-16, but Williams responded by scoring six of the final eight points to take the set, 25-18, and even the match at one set apiece.
The third set remained tight deep into the frame, with Bates holding a 17-16 advantage before Reneaum put down a kill to give the Bobcats a two-point cushion. From there, Bates took complete control.
With Isabel Bettencourt (Sr.) at the service line, the Bobcats scored six more unanswered points to extend the run to 7-0 and surge ahead 24-16. Williams committed two attack errors before Castiglioni and Gilmer teamed for a block to make it 21-16. Gilmer followed with a kill, Bettencourt served an ace, and Castiglioni and Gilmer combined for another block to bring Bates to set point. Williams stopped the run with a point, but Castiglioni answered with a kill to finish the 25-17 victory and give Bates a 2-1 lead.
There was little suspense in the fourth.
Bates scored the first five points and stretched the advantage to 8-1. Williams trimmed the margin to 11-5 before the Bobcats answered with five straight, getting kills from Norry and Castiglioni along the way to make it 16-5.
The Ephs made one final push, cutting the deficit to 18-12, but Bates responded with three straight points. Reneaum delivered consecutive kills to make it 23-13, and Faris followed with an ace to bring the Bobcats to match point. A Williams service error finished the 25-14 set and secured Bates' first victory over the Ephs in nearly 27 years.
Bates outhit Williams .241 to .120 for the match and held advantages of 44-42 in kills, 12-7 in service aces and 55-44 in digs. The Bobcats were particularly effective after the second set, holding Williams to a .051 hitting percentage in the third and a -.069 mark in the fourth.
Alice Fischer (Fy.) recorded 18 assists, 14 digs and two aces, while Lauren Croom (Jr.) added 16 assists, five digs and two aces. Logan Yogi (Sr.) collected 12 digs for the Bobcats.
Bates will now remain idle until Friday evening when the Bobcats host the aforementioned Tufts University Jumbos at 6:00 p.m.
