The volleyball team opened its 2009-10 season this weekend, taking part in the Wellesley Quad Tournament. Despite inspired play, the Cardinals fell short in their three matches, losing close contests to Wellesley, Amherst and Johns Hopkins.

In the opening battle of the tournament on Friday, Wesleyan jumped to an early 7-4 first-set lead against Wellesley, but the Blue battled back to take a 25-24 lead late in the set. This did not faze the Cardinals, and behind Alissa Santucci’s ’12 excellent serving, the Cards won three straight points to take the set 27-25.  The Cards fell just short in the second set, losing 25-22, and dropped the third 25-8. In the fourth frame, the team demonstrated its tenacity, taking a 24-21 lead. The Blue proved up to the challenge, however, battling back to win the deciding set 28-26.

Wesleyan opened its Saturday slate by taking on Little Three rival Amherst, giving the Lord Jeffs a hard-fought match. Amherst took the first two sets 25-22 and 25-21, but the Cards showed great poise and mental toughness, winning the next two sets 25-22 and 26-24.  In a thrilling fifth set, the Cardinals and Lord Jeffs were tied at 14-all, but Amherst pulled away for a 16-14 win and a 3-2 match victory.

In their second match of the day, the Cards took on the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays, and despite a record-setting defensive performance by Ruby Hernandez ’11, who amassed 43 digs, the Jays took the match 3-1. Wesleyan took an early lead, winning the first set 25-23. Hopkins came back in the following two sets, winning 25-20 and 25-17. In the fourth set, both teams played spiritedly, and despite the Cards’ impressive play, the Jays took the final set 28-26.

Although Wesleyan’s record coming out of the tournament was disappointing, there were a few standout individual performances. Ashley Farrow ’10 continued where she left off last year with 38 kills, including a team-high 16 in the Wellesley match. Casey Reed ’12 showcased her talent on Saturday, leading the team in kills in both matches and finishing the tournament with a team-high 43. Hernandez was a defensive stalwart in the match against Hopkins, her 43 digs shattering her school record of 36, set in a five-game match against Connecticut College in October 2007. Setter Ellie Healy ’10 was her usual outstanding self as well, racking up 52 assists against Amherst. Despite the losses, the team showed great promise in the tournament and looks to solidify its place among the NESCAC’s elite this year.

Wesleyan returns to action on Wednesday with a match at Keene State, an opponent the Cardinals defeated 3-2 last season in the teams’ first-ever meeting.