NESCAC Champs 2024!!

 

What a weekend!!  We knew it was a win or go home for good scenario thanks to our regular season finish, but this team would NOT be denied!!  We swept a tough Wesleyan team for the first time this season and had to come back from quite a deficit in set 2 to do so, but that started a roll that kept going all weekend.  

Caitlin gave us some inspiration before heading to Maine for the weekend.  At our final practice before leaving for the weekend, Caitlin gave the team some motivation and visualization!  She looked up at the Banner already hanging in the gym with our other 5 years of NESCAC Championships and asked the team to look with her...then she said I want you to visualize a 2024 up there!  (Or something like that--it was awesome and obviously set the tone for our mission for the weekend!)

The Colby match was one for the ages.  Colby had a huge crowd and was a fantastic atmosphere for a championship.  The hockey team seemed to be in the front row at center court and the house was rocking, and even though most people weren't cheering for us, it was a wonderful atmosphere to play in!!

We had watched Colby just crush Williams in the opening set the night before, and unfortunately, they seemed to do somewhat the same thing to us, taking the first set 14-25.  We turned the tables in the 2nd and took an 18-7 lead and we cruised into a tie match taking set 2 by a score of 25-16.  The 3rd set was a battle back and forth and we finished strongly to take the final three points and secure a 25-22 win in set 3.  They rebounded and pushed a tight score in the 4th out with a 7-1 spurt in the middle of the set that we couldn't respond to and they forced a 5th set with a 16-25 win in set 4, setting the stage for a 5th set, winner take all short game played only to 15!

The 5th set was back and forth the whole way with neither team having more than a 2 point advantage until a Colby kill put them up 9-12.  We never blinked and after trading a couple of points, Molly got a kill and their setter stepped over the center line to tie up the game at 14-14.  Our defense came up huge in the end of this game as many of the points were long rallies and we seemed to be the team a little more on the offensive, but their defense was also coming up with huge digs.  After an attacking error by them put us up 15-14, the final rally seemed to go on forever.  I seriously think I jumped off the bench at least twice thinking we'd put the final kill down only to have a Colby player barely get under it and keep it alive before Molly went up for a final HIT.  The ball actually came down on our side but the whistle had blown and their blocker was in the net.  Honestly, I think she was exhausted from trying to block Molly several times in the final points and after such a long rally, that final KILL was the topper, propelling us to a NESCAC CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!

VICTORY!!  How sweet it is!!   AND, that meant that we could play another weekend in the NCAA's!!