It had all the makings of a great weekend for the Wesleyan volleyball team. The Cardinals were ready for two intense matches against rivals Amherst and Tufts. Unfortunately, the Cardinals lost to both of their in-conference foes. But there is still plenty for the team to be happy about despite the defeats, as the Cardinals celebrated one player’s accomplishments and now prepare for their opening post-season match.
The weekend began with a game Friday night against Amherst. The Cardinals took to the court at the Freeman Athletic Center in front of a packed house of enthusiastic and loyal Wesleyan volleyball fans. Everyone was aware that the visiting Jeffs, who had a 16-9 record and were 5-3 in the NESCAC, were a strong team, and the Cardinals were set for a tough match against their Little Three rivals.
“When we go against a Little Three opponent we know that we have to bring everything we have to the match,” said Allison Heaney ’07.
The match began well, as the Wesleyan ladies came out swinging and took the first game 30-23. However, it was clear even early on that the Cardinal players were at a disadvantage against their visitors, as the Jeffs’ offense was much more effective and efficient than Wesleyan’s. The Cardinals’ defensive skills (the team recorded 11 blocks), were able to keep them in the game and the Jeffs were eventually able to wear down their hosts. Amherst won the last three games of the match handily by the scores of 30-19, 30-12 and 30-27.
The Cardinals’ woes continued on Saturday, as the Wesleyan team went to battle against a powerhouse Tufts program. Tufts came into the match with 26-5 record and an eight-game win streak in conference play. The Lady Cards knew they were up against a tough team, but they still fought very hard, losing three very close games (30-28, 30-24, 30-24) to the Jumbos.
Although the loss was certainly frustrating, the Cardinals’ intensity was clear.
“We gave the match our all even though we were simply overmatched,”
said student coach Becca Mintz ’06. “There’s no shame in losing to a team like that, especially because we gave it our all and played as hard as we could.”
Despite the losses, there were two bright spots for the Cardinals last weekend. Erin Reding ’06 added seven more blocks in the two matches, bringing her career total at Wesleyan to 313. In the process, she passed older sister Alexis Reding ’01, who had 310 blocks, for second place on the school all-time list for blocks. The school record for blocks is 582, set by Eliza Allen ’03.
In addition, the Cards, despite the late-season troubles that brought their overall record to 16-11 and their conference record to 3-7, are now set to travel to Colby this weekend for the NESCAC tournament, where they are the eighth seed.
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