The women’s volleyball team won three of its four matches at the MIT Invitational over the weekend, finishing in fifth place in its first appearance at the tournament since 2000. The Cardinals recorded their first-ever win against Vassar, and also defeated Muhlenberg and NESCAC foe Connecticut College, but lost to host and eventual champion MIT. Wesleyan’s overall record now stands at 8-2.

Wesleyan opened the tournament with a match against Muhlenberg College on Friday afternoon. The Cardinals dominated the first two games, winning by scores of 30-13 and 30-19. The third game was much closer, but Wesleyan eked out a 30-28 victory for its third 3-0 win of the year. The match lasted just one hour and fifteen minutes, making it one of the Cardinals’ quickest of the season, along with the Sept. 15 match against Colby.

Wesleyan advanced to play MIT, who won 3-0 against Bowdoin, on Friday night. MIT has historically dominated its own tournament; the Beavers have lost only two games in the tournament over the past two years. Wesleyan dropped a close first game 30-26, and fell in the second 30-21. MIT overwhelmed the Cardinals in the third game, a 30-15 Beaver victory. MIT improved to 10-1 on the season and advanced to the championship bracket, while the Cardinals were sent to the “Gold” bracket.

The Cardinals opened Saturday’s play against Vassar, an opponent they had previously never defeated. Wesleyan squeaked by in the first game, 31-29, and rolled to a 30-15 win in the second. However, the Brewers roared back with a 30-27 win in the third game and a 30-26 triumph in the fourth, setting up a decisive fifth game to 15. Wesleyan pulled out a 15-13 win to record its first-ever victory against the Poughkeepsie crew and advanced to the fifth-place game against NESCAC rival Connecticut College.

In a match that outside hitter Fotini Xenidis ’11 called “rocky,” Wesleyan scored another 3-2 victory to win the bracket and take home fifth place. The Camels recorded a narrow win in the first game, 30-27, but Wesleyan answered with a 30-24 victory tying the match at 1-1. The Cardinals rolled to a 30-18 win in the third game, but Connecticut won the fourth 30-21, sending the match to a fifth game. This time, Wesleyan cruised to a 15-7 victory to end the two-hour, 15-minute match, the team’s longest of the season.

The two teams will meet again in New London on October 3rd, and Xenidis believes the tournament battle provided invaluable experience for the rematch, which will count in the NESCAC standings.

“There were a lot of times during the match where we would lose intensity, and there were a lot of times when we were really intense,” said Xenidis. “It taught us to be on guard and be ready for anything. The win was important because it showed us that if we play really intense [throughout the match]…we should definitely beat Conn in three games next time.”

Defensive specialist Ruby Hernandez ’11 agreed.

“I think that our match against Conn. College was very important for several reasons—first, we will go into the NESCAC match knowing a bit about their rotation and their tendencies. The NESCAC is very competitive, and this MIT game against Conn. just showed our team that we will need to be prepared and give it our all in order to take a win,” she explained.

Throughout the tournament, the Cardinals continued to show their depth, receiving significant contributions from multiple players. Outside hitter Lisa Drennan ’09 recorded 93 kills in the tournament – including 33 against Vassar – raising her season total to 204, while Xenidis added 29 kills of her own. On the defensive side, Hernandez recorded 73 digs, and setter Ellie Healy ’10 added 48.

The tournament also provided Wesleyan with some of its toughest competition this season. The Cardinals’ four opponents currently have a combined winning percentage of .707 (41-17), and all four had hitting percentages above .100 in their matches with Wesleyan, something only one of Wesleyan’s previous six opponents accomplished. Muhlenberg committed 19 errors, and MIT 12. Other than Williams (18), none of Wesleyan’s other eight opponents this season have committed fewer than 20 errors against the Cardinals.

Wesleyan finished fifth in the 16-team event, and its 3-1 record marks its best ever performance at the tournament. Wesleyan finished behind two NESCAC foes, Tufts and Williams, as well as champion MIT (4-0) and third-place Wellesley (3-1). Overall, the team was happy with its showing.

“This tournament definitely displayed our capabilities,” said Hernandez. “I think that this tournament had some really strong teams, and we did very well, proven by our record at 3-1. Regardless of how other teams may have placed, I think we did incredibly well.”

However, some members of the team were disappointed with the MIT loss – had the Cardinals won, they would have advanced to the championship bracket and a rematch against Williams, who defeated Wesleyan in its second match of the season, 3-1.

“We would have definitely liked to play Williams again,” said Healy. “They are a big rival of ours and we want as many chances as possible to beat them before we play them in a league match. Also, it would have been nice to play them again after two weeks and see what kind of improvement has taken place…They are a good team, but I am confident that we could beat them if we [play] to our potential.”

The Cardinals still have another date with the Ephs remaining on their schedule, an October 26th match at Connecticut College that will count towards the NESCAC standings.

Wesleyan continues its nonconference schedule this week. On Wednesday, the Cardinals will take on Western Connecticut State University in their first home match of the season. Head Coach Gale Lackey currently has 399 career wins. With her next win, Lackey will become the second Wesleyan coach to ever reach 400 victories in any sport. Wednesday’s match begins at 7 p.m.