On Friday, Sept. 9, the Wesleyan volleyball team opened its 2011 campaign on the campus of Vassar College at the Vassar Invitational. The first match of the round robin tournament pitted the Cardinals against the hosting Brewers. Wesleyan opened the season with a bang, taking the first set by a score of 25-21, but fell in the following three sets and dropped the match. The second match for the Cardinals, also on Friday, slated them against the undefeated MIT Engineers. The match began like the Cardinals’ first contest, as they won the first set 25-18. Unfortunately, the same sequence that occurred in the Vassar match unfolded once again, as MIT took the next hard-fought sets by scores of 25-19, 25-18, and 25-21 to hand Wesleyan another loss.

The Cardinals looked to snare their first victories of the season the following day, first against the Stevens Tech Ducks, and then the Montclair Red Hawks. Stevens Tech had split their two matches on Friday, while Montclair had gone 0-2. The Cardinals played a contentious match with Stevens Tech to open Saturday’s action, but fell three sets to one for the third time in as many games. The round robin concluded for the Cardinals with their match versus Montclair. The Cardinals were not to be denied in the match, winning from start to finish in a convincing three set victory. Wes took the sets 25-23, 25-18, and 25-22.

Senior captain Casey Reed led the Cardinals with 17 kills and added 21 digs on the first day of action, while Monica Leslie ’14 and Jess Shevins ’14 added 15 and 10 kills, respectively. Shevins recorded all ten kills in the match versus MIT, while Leslie also notched five blocks on Friday. Jeanne McPhee ’13 led Wes with 24 digs in the first two matches, while Kim Farris ’14 hammered down six aces. The second day of action once again saw standout performances from Reed and Leslie, as the captain had 26 kills on the day and the sophomore middle hitter added 16 kills to her tally. Laura Yim ’13, the team’s primary setter, had 53 assists on Saturday while Katie Schad ’13 registered six aces. McPhee led Wes once again in digs on the day, this time with 36, giving her an impressive weekend total of 60.

Wesleyan has its home opener on Tuesday, Sept. 13, in Silloway Gymnasium versus in-state foe Albertus Magnus College. The Cardinals look to turn their luck around on their home court, as they left the opening weekend with a 1-3 record.