SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Junior setter
Catriona Hoelperl had 14 assists on Tuesday evening to reach the 1,000-career assist plateau as the Skidmore College women's volleyball team dropped a four-set match (22–25, 25–17, 13–25, 19–25) to visiting Middlebury College.
- It is the second year in a row that Skidmore has taken a set from Middlebury (7-4) after the Panthers swept the previous 11 matchups.
- Hoelperl entered the contest with 987 assists and became the ninth player in program history to reach the milestone on Chloe Heitman's kill early in the fourth set.
- Jazlin Chen led the way for Skidmore (6-6) with eight kills, four blocks (two solo), and two aces for 13.0 total points.
- Heitman was right behind with seven kills, seven digs, one block, and a .952 service receive percentage.
- Marlow McIntyre finished with a season-high five service aces to go along with 16 digs and five assists.
- Madison Manning had a pair of aces with five kills, a block, and five digs.
- Maya Stolarz finished with six kills, three digs, and two block assists.
- Molly Harrison was the leader for the Panthers with 14 kills and 14 digs.
- Caroline Byrne also had 14 kills with three blocks.
- Both teams were active at the net, with Middlebury posting a narrow 8–7 edge in total blocks.
- The first set featured a blistering pace and plenty of back-and-forth play. In a frame that had 17 ties and seven lead changes, as well as several long rallies, the visitors scored four unanswered to break a 20-all tie and eventually go up 1–0. Neither side scored more than three in a row until that point.
- Skidmore evened the match by holding the Panthers to a -.050 swing percentage in the second. Trailing 9–8, the Thoroughbreds seized control with 12 unanswered points on McIntyre's serve with two aces, kills by three players, and six Middlebury attacking errors. Stolarz put the set away with a kill, extinguishing a late Panther challenge.
- The visitors got back to form in the third, hitting .370 as a team and holding Skidmore without a block. Middlebury raced out to an 11–4 lead and never looked back.
- The Thoroughbreds held an early lead in set four before five straight points made it 17–14 Middlebury. It launched a 9–1 run, and the Panthers clinched the match on their third match point.
UP NEXT
Skidmore begins Liberty League play on the road this weekend at No. 19 Ithaca and RIT.