On Saturday, Oct. 8, the Wesleyan volleyball squad took the court for a pair of home non-conference matches. The opener pitted the Cardinals against the visiting Clark Cougars in the first matchup between the two sides since 2003. Clark took the first set handily by a count of 25-15, and squeaked by to win the second set 25-23. Wes staved off a sweep, cruising to a 25-19 third set triumph before Clark secured the match with a 25-20 edge in the fourth. Captain Casey Reed ’12 continues to lead the offensive charge for Wes, smashing 14 kills against Clark, while Kim Farris ’14 put away 11 kills. Setter Laura Yim ’ 13 recorded 34 assists while defensive stalwart Jeanne McPhee ’13 notched 24 digs.

The second match of the day for the Cardinals was against the New Hampshire-based Keene State. Wes soared past the Owls in a four set victory spearheaded by 14 kills from Monica Leslie ’14, 10 from Reed, and eight from Farris. Another notable statistic was the high number of Cardinal rejections. Leading the block party was Farris with 11 blocks, while Laura Volgenau ’13 sent back five of her own. McPhee led once again with 17 digs, while Claire Larson ’15 took over setting duties and had 33 assists. Wesleyan won by a count of 25-21, 16-25, 25-19, and 25-23 in the four set victory.

The loss to Clark drops the Wesleyan all-time record against the Cougars to 17-7, while the win over Keene State ups the series record to 3-1 in Wesleyan’s favor. The Saturday split leaves the Cardinals with a 5-13 record overall, 1-4 in NESCAC play. The squad’s next action comes this upcoming weekend with two conference games against Tufts and Conn. College at the neutral site of Trinity. Wes has two remaining home games on the 2011 slate, both non-conference contests, against Rhode Island College on Oct. 18 and Eastern Connecticut State on Oct. 26.