In their third win-or-go-home match of the year, Wesleyan volleyball was unable to stave off top-ranked Amherst, finally ending their Cinderella story of a season.  Against an Amherst team that had only lost twice prior to this contest, chances for Wesleyan to advance seemed slim, and indeed after the first two sets they found themselves in a 0-2 hole. They temporarily had a glimpse of the other side, as they pulled the third set out from under the legs of the Lord Jeffs, but in the end it wasn’t enough, as Amherst advanced to the tune of a 3-1 match victory (25-21, 25-13, 22-25, 25-19).

Amherst came out of the gate at home looking fully like a team that had only lost two matches all year. Coupled with 22 wins, Amherst’s number one seed was well-deserved and they intended to prove it.

The first set was a close one, which Wes battled in but ultimately could not pull out. The second set was never close and Amherst looked as though they were going to cruise to an easy victory.

With every set now pivotal to the survival of their season, Wes had no option but to win, and win they did, taking the third set with room to spare and putting a seed of doubt in Amherst’s mind. Unfortunately, that would prove to be the last set that they would win on the year, as Amherst regrouped and proved up to the task of ending the Cardinals’ season.

Laura Yim ’13 picked a great day to set her season high for assists, totaling 50 on the day.  Offensively, familiar faces led the Cards as Casey Reed ’12 had 17 kills, while Kim Farris ’14 had 13 and Monica Leslie ’14 added 12 of her own. In her last game wearing Cardinal red, Ruby Hernandez ’11 came up big with 29 digs, good for her second highest total on the year.

The Cardinals made the Lord Jeffs sweat, and since much of the offence came from younger contributors, the Cards look to improve in the coming year. They will be losing the powerful presences of Lesley Faulkner ’11 and Hernandez, but the Cardinals hope that next year will be an improvement upon a season that saw them go 10-13.