The volleyball team suffered its first NESCAC setback of the year on Wednesday night, losing a hard-fought match at Connecticut College, 3-2. The loss dropped Wesleyan (12-3, 3-1 NESCAC) into a third-place tie with Trinity, one-half game behind the Camels (4-1 NESCAC) and one game behind Amherst (2-0 NESCAC) and Williams (2-0 NESCAC).

Wesleyan began the match with a 30-26 win in the first game, but the Camels won the second 30-24 to even the match. The Cardinals narrowly won the third game 30-28 to put themselves on the brink of victory, but Connecticut roared back with a 30-14 win to send the match to a deciding fifth game. The previous meeting between the two teams, the fifth-place match at the MIT Tournament in mid-September, also went to five games, with the Cardinals prevailing in the tiebreaker, 15-7. This time, however, the Camels prevailed, 15-11, for a 3-2 match win.

“Conn. had a great match,” said tri-captain Jettie Word ’08. “They were definitely prepared to play us.”

The loss was Wesleyan’s third straight against their in-state foes in NESCAC play. It was also Wesleyan’s first loss of the season in a five-game match. The Cardinals had been 3-0 in such situations. The 14 points in the fourth game represented Wesleyan’s lowest total since a match against the Coast Guard in October 2006; it was only the third time this season that an opponent held Wesleyan under 20 points. The match lasted two hours and 20 minutes, making it Wesleyan’s longest of the season.

“The game was very intense,” Word said. “We played some of the longest rallies of the season.”

Many Cardinals, however, continued to put up strong numbers in the losing effort. NESCAC Player of the Week Ruby Hernandez ’11 had 36 digs to bring her team-leading total up to 281, and outside hitter Lisa Drennan ’09 added 22 digs and 17 kills. Fellow outside hitters Becca Rodger ’08 and Fotini Xenidis ’11 chipped in 23 and 10 digs, respectively, and Xenidis added 16 kills. Despite the strong Wesleyan attack, however, the Camels managed to finish with a higher hitting percentage (.174) than the Cardinals (.142). Only two other opponents, Williams and MIT (who both defeated Wesleyan), have managed that feat this season.

Wesleyan will attempt to get back into the win column this Friday with a home match against Trinity. The Cardinals previously defeated the Bantams in last weekend’s Wesleyan Invitational, 3-0. Friday’s match will start at 7:30 p.m.