HENNIKER, N.H. — The Vermont State University Castleton women’s volleyball team bounced back in a big way Thursday night, delivering a dominant 3-0 sweep of the New England College Pilgrims.
Castleton came into Thursday’s non-conference matchup looking to bounce back from a tough loss against Skidmore College. The Spartans answered that challenge with one of their best performances, sweeping the Pilgrims in straight sets.
The opening set was a back-and-forth battle, featuring 11 ties and five lead changes. Both teams traded runs early, with Brianna Walsh and Madison Sheehan pacing the offense with timely kills. In the final run of the set, a service ace from Alondra Rojas, multiple kills from Jocelyn Ray, and a block from Olivia Smith helped the Spartans pull ahead. New England responded with two straight points to tie it again, but a kill from Walsh followed by a Pilgrims error secured the 26-24 win for the Spartans.
The second set saw the Spartans dial in offensively, hitting an impressive .341 as a team while limiting errors. Ray came alive with four of her nine kills, and Rojas continued to direct the offense, tallying 13 kills in this set alone. Though the Pilgrims attempted a late push, strong back-row play from Nicolette Vaughn and Walsh kept rallies alive and allowed Castleton to close out the set, 25-22.
The Spartans wasted no time setting the tone in the final set, using aggressive serving to overwhelm the Pilgrims 25-15 to complete the sweep. After a service error on the first point, the Spartans quickly took control thanks to back-to-back service aces from Walsh, followed by a kill from Sheehan, giving Castleton an early 5-1 lead.
They continued to apply pressure from the service line and at the net, with Sam Ford, Smith, and Walsh each contributing kills to extend the advantage. New England tried to respond, but a strong of errors, including three straight points on miscommunication, kept Castleton comfortably ahead. The Spartans offense remained steady posting 17 kills to NEC’s seven, while the defense held the Pilgrims to a .086 hitting percentage.
REDDING, Conn. — The Vermont State University Castleton men’s golf team sat in fifth after the first round of Little East Conference Championships on Thursday. Three Spartans were in the top 10 after 18 holes.
Captain Cam Reid is leading his team after the first round, as he currently sits in seventh with a score of 86. Despite finishing the day 15-over, Reid had two birdies on the front nine and one on the back.
Right behind is Rookie of the Week, Sam Knight in seventh as he shot an 87, finishing with seven pars.
The last top-10 placement is Reid Myers who is tied for ninth place with a first-round score of 88. Tommie Shaw sits in 28th place (+28), while Dylan Roebuck rounds out the field in 30th (+36).
MIDDLEBURY — Earlier in the week, Audrey MacLean of the No. 25 Middlebury College women’s cross country team was named the NESCAC Cross Country Runner of the Week for the second time in three weeks. The honor is the sixth of MacLean’s career.
The Panther excelled in the White Race at Lehigh’s Paul Short Run, claiming runner-up honors in a field of 403 competitors with a time of 20:27.7 over the 6K course.
MacLean’s clocking is a season-best and the fastest in the NESCAC this season.
Her performance helped the squad to a fourth-place finish out of 44 teams, its highest since 2016.
The runner has secured a top-three placement in each of Middlebury’s four races, including the top spot at the Hoffmann Invitational hosted by St. Lawrence.
MacLean and her teammates are idle this weekend before heading southeast for the Connecticut College Invitational on Saturday, October 18.
