Sports

Coast Guard Defeats Middlebury In Volleyball

Bears come out 3-2 against Panthers

The following information was provided by Jason Southard, sports information director at the Coast Guard Academy:

Sophomore Kelsey DePorto led the way with 13 kills leading Coast Guard to a hard-fought 3-2 (16-25, 25-23, 24-26, 25-20, 15-10) win over Middlebury College to open play at the 2011 Amherst Classic. With the win, the Bears improved to 8-2 overall on the year, while the Panthers fell to 5-4 on the season.

With the match tied at two, both teams battled to an 8-8 tie in a fifth set tiebreak. Hoping to seize control, the Bears reeled off a 6-1 run to go up 14-9 before a Middlebury attack error on a drop shot that fell wide sealed the Coast Guard win.

Junior co-captain Karen Matic tallied nine kills, dishing out 28 assists while directing the Bears offense. Freshman setter Elise Sako added 15 assists, while sophomore outside hitter Sam Marmolejo and junior Catherine Walker recorded 18 digs and four service aces, respectively.

Middlebury’s Sarah Studwell and Megan Jarchow paced the Panther attack with 18 kills apiece, while junior Julia Gibbs finished with 45 assists. Fellow junior Caitlin Barrett collected 41 digs and three aces, while first-year Piper Underbrink chipped in with three blocks.

Coast Guard will open the second day of competition on Saturday at 11 a.m., with Middlebury scheduled to take on Brandeis at 2 p.m.


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