The Cards faced the difficult challenge of overcoming an injury to one of their star players, middle hitter Erin Redding ’06. Redding, who sprained her ankle earlier in the week in the team’s 3-0 sweep of Albertus Magnus, could have helped change the outcome of the weekend results had it not been for the injury.
“Erin’s sprained ankle in the warm-ups against Albertus Magnus hurt us,” said Jettie Word ’08. “She is a strong force on our team. Her ability to bring us as a team closer together really gives us a boost on the floor. She is a positive influence on the entire team.”
“Erin is amazing, and so it was obviously tough for us to go out there without her,” added defensive specialist Tory Molnar ’07. “But we stayed mentally tough and didn’t get down about it. Our two freshmen middles, Jettie and Caroline [Rober ’08] really stepped it up. They both did an amazing job. They were stuffing one of the top hitters in New England [against Williams].”
The Cards struggled against Middlebury, as they were defeated in a 0-3 sweep, losing the final set by just five points, 25-30. The unit struggled to maintain a high intensity level early on and got off to a slow start in the beginning rounds.
“Had we come into the game with a higher energy level against Middlebury, we would have been able to beat them,” Word said. “We were a little off track with our consistency. We had a lot of trouble focusing. When we find the point where we can come together as a team and connect with each other, we will see improved results.”
After the defeat at the hands of Middlebury, the team was downed by powerhouse Williams College. Perhaps feeling the effects of a deflated bench, the Cards failed to capture a single set as they fell 0-3.
Despite the early letdown the volleyball team took their frustration out at the expense of Hamilton College, dominating the Continentals from the get go with a 3-0 sweep of their own.
“Playing Williams, the number one team in the NESCACs, was really great for us,” Molnar said. “It showed us that we can play with them. We played a great third game in that match against Williams. We went out knowing that if we played as well as we did against Williams, we would easily beat [Hamilton]. We stayed mentally tough and won the game, instead of letting them lose it. We also really wanted to come away with a NESCAC win, and so we got really fired up and focused for the Hamilton match.”
“We were really able to keep our energy level up after our first two matches,” Word added. “Even though we were worn out, we were still able to keep up a high consistency level. It was really impressive for us to come out against Hamilton with the energy that we came out with. It says a lot about our team even after the rough start.”
As the season goes on and volleyball faces tough competition within the conference, consistency will become a major focus, especially considering the lack of depth on the bench.
“A key to our improvement is our ability to keep our focus,” Word added. “We have had times where we were having a great stretch where we play great, and then where we haven’t played as well. We need to be able to play consistently at a higher level.”
The volleyball team will continue play against Western Connecticut State University this Wednesday, and will take on Trinity and Connecticut College at home this upcoming weekend.
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