WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- The Williams Ephs defeated the Southern Vermont Mountaineers 3-0 in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Division III Williamstown Regional tournament, wining all three sets easily at 25-7, 25-12 and 25-18. The Ephs' win raised their record to 26-4 this season, while lowering the Mountaineers' record to 12-9.
Williams started the first set strongly, leading 7-1 during Emily O'Day's serving streak. An Eph service error gave SVC the serve, which was quickly won back by heavy kills from Emily Doll and Raea Rasmussen. A service ace by Amanda Schott and kills by Katherine Lane and Tori Jasuta gave Williams a 13-2 lead, pressuring the Mountaineers to call the first time out. Long rallies ensued, terminated by Jasuta on the outside and Lane in the middle, until the score reached 18-7. Another float serve ace by Lane, and kills from Rasmussen and Lane won the Ephs their first set handily, 25-7.
The Ephs carried their momentum to the second set, with Rasmussen running a quick middle hit. SVC came back with a strategic dump by setter Sheilani Kaleopa, followed by a service ace from Jessica Delgado, tying up the score 2-2. Williams quickly moved ahead, thanks to Lane's middle block and kills by Jasuta. Doll then served for several consecutive points until the Ephs had an error, setting the score at 14-4. During the streak, setter Ryan Farley forearm passed a quick set to Lane, who killed center court. SVC kept the ball up in a few impressively long rallies, but the Ephs continued to terminate. SVC pushed back, Delgado scoring points off kills and a block in attempts to counter Williams, and drove the score to 21-11. Williams would win the set 25-12.
Williams won the first two points of the third set thanks to Rasmussen and Doll's double block on the right side. However, SVC fought back, Carrie Baltazar and Marissa Flores battled Williams' Doll and Jasuta for kills, and created a tied score at 4-4. Alternating kills and errors, both teams slowly racked up points until the still tied score reached 9-9. During Lane's serving streak, Williams broke ahead thanks to kills by Lane, Rasmussen and Claire Miller until the score reached 14-10 for Williams. SVC's Delgado retaliated with her own serving streak, allowing Brin Goldman and Flores to gather kills. Following a few errors on SVC's court, Mountaineers head coach Deon Jones called his first time out, the score being 19-13. Again the teams traded kills and errors, but the Ephs pushed ahead, Doll putting the balls to the floor until the final set ended at 25-18.
The Ephs have made 11 NCAA tournament appearances, and will continue on Saturday against Springfield with a 16-10 tournament record, while the Mountaineers have made three appearances, with a 0–3 NCAA tournament record.
