Hartford, Conn. - The Trinity College volleyball team earned a 3-1 victory over the Middlebury College Panthers, 3-1, in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) volleyball opener for both teams this evening at Wesleyan University.  Trinity is off to its best start in at least 15 years at 5-0 after avenging a 3-0 loss in last season's NESCAC Tournament to the Panthers.  Middlebury drops to 3-3 with its first defeat in three matches.  Trinity will face Amherst, ranked No. 8 in New England, tomorrow at 11 a.m. in its second match of this weekend's NESCAC Quad at Wesleyan.

Trinity toughed out the first set, leading continuosly after a 6-6 tie but leading by no more than five points until the very end of a 25-21 triumph.  After dropping the second set, 25-20, senior co-captain S Jen Low (San Francisco, Calif.) served up four straight points to turn a 10-7 lead into a 14-7 and Trinity raced to a 25-15 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.  Sophomore Clara Zinman (Shrewsbury, Mass.) served for five straight points to boost the Bantams to a 6-1 lead in the fourth set, as Trinity did not trail after a 1-1 tie en route to a 25-18 win to clinch the match.

Trinity had a two-player wrecking crew up front as junior OH Danielle Isaman (West Hartford, Conn.) had 19 kills and sophomore OH Hannah Brickley (Melrose, Mass.) had 17, accounting for 36 of the Bantams' 47 kills.  Low tossed up 41 assists and added three aces.  Senior L Sarah Blagden (Charleston, S.C.) had a match-high 23 digs.   Middlebury got 17 kills from sophomore Megan Jarchow and 12 from junior Sarah Studwell.  Junior Julia Gibbs had 40 assists.  Junior Madeline Firestone took honors in blocks with four.  Jarchow also picked up 15 digs to pace the Panthers with junior Caitlin Barrett right behind with 14.

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