Hamilton College's Courtney Brown '18 hammered 16 kills and the Continentals came from behind for a five-set NESCAC win against the Williams College Ephs at Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Friday night.

The Continentals (4-2, 2-1 NESCAC) won the first set, 25-21, but Williams claimed the next two by scores of 25-23 and 25-21. Hamilton took the fourth set, 25-22, and clinched the match with a 15-8 victory in the deciding fifth set. The Continentals posted their first triumph against the Ephs since 1994 as Hamilton finished with a big 13-3 advantage in blocks.

Brown's 16 kills represent her highest total since Oct. 10, 2014 when she had 19 against Colby. She committed just one error in 42 attack attempts and ended up with a .357 hitting percentage.

Erin Donahue '18 smashed 14 kills and Giuliana Rankin '20 chipped in 11 and a career-high seven blocks. Emma Parkhurst '21 passed out 48 assists and served three aces, and Margaret O'Brien '18 came up with seven blocks. O'Brien moved into fourth place on the program's all-time list with 270 total blocks. Christine Zizzi '18 helped lead the defense with 25 digs, Meghan Wilkinson '19 added 15 and Nikki Matsuoka '21 had 14.

Ally Ostrow paced Williams (4-5, 1-2) with 15 kills and 19 digs. Mia Weinland whacked 12 kills and Alex Newton did a little bit of everything as she recorded 10 kills, 51 assists and 14 digs. Alicia Blanco collected 15 digs and three aces, and Daiana Takashima led all players with 29 digs.

The Continentals racked up 11 kills with no errors in 19 attempts for a .579 hitting percentage in the all-important fifth set. The Ephs held a 3-2 edge early in the set but Hamilton scored nine of the next 10 points for a commanding 11-4 cushion. O'Brien and Giuliana -- both listed at 6 feet, 2 inches tall -- combined to smash five kills and record two blocks during the 9-1 run. Donahue clinched the win with a kill on match point.

Williams held an 18-15 lead in the first set but the Continentals took a 19-18 lead with four straight points. The Ephs called a time out and tied the score one last time by scoring the next point. Hamilton followed with a Rankin kill, a Williams attack error and a block by Rankin and Dorothy Poucher '21. The Continentals closed out the set on kills by Donahue and Brown.

In the second set the Ephs pulled away from a 5-5 tie by rattling off six points in a row. Hamilton came all the way back to tie the score at 23-23 before kills by Tess Richman and Newton gave the set to Williams. The score was tied at 5-5 again in the third set when the Ephs pulled away with a 9-1 spurt. The Continentals didn't get closer than three points the rest of the set.

An entertaining fourth set featured nine ties and two lead changes as neither team led by more than four points. The score was tied at 22-22 when Parkhurst and O'Brien combined on a block, O'Brien added a solo block and Rankin sent the home crowd into a frenzy with a kill.

Hamilton travels to Wells College for non-conference matches against Morrisville State College and Wells on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 2 and 4 p.m., respectively.