Just two days after suffering consecutive losses to NESCAC foes, the women’s volleyball team bounced back with a commanding 3-0 sweep over Rhode Island College in its home opener on Tuesday. Although the team has only nine players, each one provided a solid all-around effort. The Cardinals were led by Becca Rogers ’08, who recorded 27 assists, and co-captain Cynthia Ugbomah ’05, who tallied nine kills. Erin Redding ’06 contributed seven kills, six aces and six blocks.
Last Saturday, despite having high hopes going into a match-up with Amherst, the team was downed in five hard fought games by a score of 3-2. Later that day, the Cards suffered a 3-0 loss at the hands of the Tufts Jumbos.
“We had a lot of advantages to playing at home. We were able to receive energy from the crowd, which gets you going,” Rogers said. “While it also gives you the nerves playing in front of your own fans, it was definitely an advantage to play at home. On the road, we had anywhere from zero to five spectators.”
One of the keys to victory against Rhode Island College, according to defensive specialist Tory Molnar ’07, was the team’s ability to keep track of the tempo on the floor.
“We were able to keep up our side of the net. We were able to play our own game and keep up our tempo despite the other team’s slower pace on their side. They weren’t a bad team, but we stuck to our game,” Molnar said.
The victory over Rhode Island provides the team with a big confidence booster as it heads into an important match with Middlebury on Friday. If the team is victorious, the Cards may find themselves in a rematch against Amherst in the finals of the Amherst Classic Tournament the next day.
“Amherst provides us with some tough competition,” Rogers said. “But we know we can trust each other on the floor and our team is filled with capable players. We lost to Amherst on a tough call in the final game, but our performance showed us we can compete against these guys again.”
The Cards will travel to Amherst today, where they are slated to take on Middlebury in the Amherst Classic Tournament. The team will host the Wesleyan Invitational Tournament against Trinity College and Smith College at home on Friday, Oct. 1.
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