Hamilton College quickly dropped the first two sets, but the Continentals rebounded to take the next two before the Williams College Ephs took the fifth set in an intense NESCAC match played at Williams' Chandler Gymnasium on Friday night.

Hamilton's chances didn't look great after a 25-5 loss in the first set, and they looked even worse after a 25-18 setback in the second. The Continentals continued to get stronger as the match went on, and they won the next two sets by scores of 25-21 and 25-17.

Hamilton (5-2, 1-1 NESCAC) and the Ephs were tied at 7-7 in the fifth set, but Williams regained the service after a Continentals service error and went on to close out the match by running off the next seven points. Lauren Kauppila served four aces and Kiley Wallace smacked two kills during the clinching run.

Kate Carman '24 paced Hamilton with 13 kills and two blocks. Carman has reached double digits in kills in five out of seven matches this fall. Deirdre Corrigan '23 chipped in a season-high 10 kills and served three aces. Melissa Morelli '24 handed out 28 assists and Cece Nourie '25 was credited with eight digs.

Williams is undefeated in eight matches, including 2-0 in the conference. The Ephs hit .379 as a team and had the advantage in kills, aces, blocks and digs. Lydia Kurtz posted a match-high 17 kills and Wallace wasn't far behind with 16. Marit Hoyem helped lead the team with 12 kills and five blocks, and Olivia Hindy also finished with five blocks. Kauppila ended up with 48 assists, 11 digs and six aces.

Williams scored the first 11 points and cruised in the first set. The Continentals never led in the second set either, but they tied the score at 3-3 and were still within one point at 15-14 after a Carman kill. The Ephs ran off the next three points and led comfortably the rest of the set. 

In the third set Hamilton broke a 7-7 tie with a 5-0 run and led the rest of the way as the Continentals registered a .526 hitting percentage. Corrigan boasted two aces and a kill during the spurt.

Williams came out strong in the fourth set as the Ephs jumped out to leads of 4-0 and 9-3. Hamilton roared back with six straight points thanks to kills from three different athletes and two Williams attack errors. The score was still tied at 13-13 when the Continentals ran off eight of the next 10 points for a 21-15 cushion. Morelli and Drew Stimson '25 had two kills apiece during the spurt. A bad set by the Ephs tied the match at two sets apiece and gave Hamilton new life.

The Continentals host Tufts University for another NESCAC match on Friday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m.