The women’s volleyball team opened their season with a successful campaign at the Johnson and Whales Tournament this weekend. The team, consisting of five seasoned veterans and four rookies, finished off the tournament with three straight victories, good enough for third place.
In their first match, the Cardinals took the opening round 30-26, but were outlasted in the end by Wheaton College, who finished in second place overall. Despite the early loss, the team gained valuable experience on the court, and was able to rebound from the early defeat. Its second match ended with a commanding 3-0 victory over Western Connecticut University.
“With five returning players and four new ones, we knew that we would have an inexperienced team with two new players starting on the court. In the first match, we struggled to figure out our roles,” said co-captain Rebecca Mintz ’05. “[The victory over Western] was an important victory for us. We split victories with them before, and this victory was a big confidence booster. We knew that in our first match [against Wheaton] that we had played well, and we were able to feel good about it going into our second match.”
The team’s next competition against UMass Dartmouth proved to be the highlight of the weekend. In a match that went to the limit and took over two hours to complete, the Cards were victorious by a slim 3-2 margin, prevailing 15-9 in the final set. The team built on the hard-earned victory in its next match, prevailing by a score of 3-1 over Johnson and Wales, despite dropping the opening round by a score of 25-30.
“This team has more heart than any team I have ever been on before. The fact that we were able to stay determined and focused, even when it got frustrating and the other team went on a roll, says a lot about us. We were able to stick to our team philosophy of staying together as a team unit, sharing energy levels, and remaining supportive of each other on and off the court,” Mintz said, who represented the Cardinals on the All-Tournament team. Mintz was one of only nine players to be recognized for her efforts. When asked to comment on this prestigious honor, Mintz gave credit back to her teammates.
“I am a vocal leader, and I am always in the spotlight on the floor. I played well largely because of the energy of my teammates,” she said.
One teammate that Mintz spoke glowingly about was her fellow co-captain, Cynthia Ugbomah ’05.
“Cynthia has really stepped it up this year. She has been passing better than before, and her play has really started to click. Her leadership skills are amazing. She is an emotional firecracker on the floor,” Mintz said.
Erin Redding ’06, one of the top hitters on the team, and another returning varsity member, is an integral part of the team and has been a key force since her frosh year. Becca Rogers ’08, has the task of starting center, one of the most important positions on the floor, her freshman year. Tory Molnar ’07, the defensive specialist on the squad and one of the key members of last year’s team, has once again earned the praise of her teammates with her tenacious defensive efforts. Mintz has described her as “the most determined defensive player on the floor, and someone who goes for tough balls that I can’t even believe she is going for.”
Molnar and the rest of the squad will try to carry over their winning streak this weekend against some familiar NESCAC rivals. The Cards will face off first against Amherst at noon on Saturday, followed by a 2:30 p.m. showdown with Tufts.
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