It was a tough week for the women’s volleyball team. The Cardinals followed up their strong performance at the Johnson and Wales tournament with a poorer showing at NESCAC weekend at Middlebury. Against their division foes, the Lady Cards went 1-2, the lone victory a big 3-0 over Hamilton College.

It only got worse for the Cardinals when, on Tuesday, they matched up with Rhode Island College (RIC). Wesleyan did not quite look like the same team that beat Hamilton, as they fell 3-1.

“It was a hard loss, but it’s one of those things that in the long run will just make us stronger because now we know our weaknesses,” said Co-captain Erin Reding ’06.

After narrowly losing the first set 30-28, the Cards managed to grab the second set 30-26, making it a real match again. But it was not to be, as RIC took the next two sets for the 3-1 win.

Lisa Drennan ’09 led the team with 19 kills total in the four games. Reding and Jettie Word ’08 added 11 kills each in the losing effort.

Despite their substandard beginning to the season, the Cardinals have several players that are shining in individual statistics. Drennan, fresh off her 19 kills Tuesday, leads the team and ranks third in the NESCAC with an average of 4.3 kills per game, for a total of 121 through eight matches. Drennan also has a hitting efficiency of 36.4, which ranks her sixth in the league. Reding and Becca Rodger ’08 rank first and second in the league with 1.10 and 1.03 blocks per game respectively. Also, with 10.5 per game, Rodger ranks third in the league in assists per game.

“Our short-term goals for now are just figuring out how to mentally prepare ourselves for each match and come out strong for the whole game,” Reding said. “This team absolutely has what it takes to be great; it’s just a matter of figuring out how to bring it out for every game.”

The Cardinals will try and get back on track this weekend when they visit Elizabethtown College for the Blue Jay Classic. Wesleyan will have matches against Scranton, Mitchell and Moravian in pool play.