Despite a hard fight against the top-ranked Colby Mules, the women’s volleyball team lost in the first round of the New England Volleyball Division III Tournament.
Excitement was in the air as the players traveled north to Colby this weekend. The women had concluded their regular season with a strong 16-11 record. But due to the impressive strength of the NESCAC, the Cardinals were only 3-7 in conference, giving them the 8th seed in the conference tournament. Because of their seed the Cardinals were aware that they would be facing the top seed Colby in the tournament in the first round. But the Cardinals were ready to battle.
The Cardinals took to Wadsworth Gymnasium on Colby’s campus to the noise of 200 raucous Mules fans. But the Cardinals were steeled and not intimidated by their confident hosts or the loyal Colby fans.
“We were really pumped to play Colby,” said sophomore setter Rebecca Rodger. “We wanted a rematch because we played poorly in our earlier match against them. Hell, we believed we could beat Colby and win the entire tournament!”
Unfortunately, as the match played out, it was clear that the Mules were going to be the victors despite the tough play of the Cardinals.
“Even though we lost, I feel like we did all we could [to try to win the match],” said Allison Heaney ’09. “We tried to never back down, even though we were losing.”
Indeed, the Cardinals fought hard in all three games, losing by scores of 30-22, 30-21 and 30-19. In fact, the Cardinal ladies came considerably closer to defeating their hosts than the Mules’ semifinal opponents, the Williams Ephs. The Cardinals played with an admirable intensity, and outside hitter Lisa Drennan ’09 played like a seasoned veteran, recording three service aces and leading both teams with 12 kills.
Middle hitter Erin Reding ’06 had two blocks, which allowed her to finish her career at Wesleyan with 315 (2nd on the Wesleyan all-time list).
The Cardinals’ offense was outdone by Colby’s, which recorded a sterling attack percentage of 24.5 percent. Kaitlin Adams and Caitlin Cleaver led the Mules in kills, recording nine and ten respectively. Also impressive was Megan Devlin’s 13 defensive digs (brining her to 1,005 digs for her career) and Kaitlin O’Reilly’s 45 assists and 16 digs. Colby’s powerful attack eventually allowed the team to win the tournament without dropping a game, as the Mules defeated both Williams and Tufts in three games. The Mules now go on to the NCAA Division III regional tournament, also to be held at Colby.
The Cardinals will not get the opportunity to play in this tournament, but that does not diminish the team’s accomplishments this season. The Cardinals played extraordinarily well for a team with only three upperclassmen. Tiffany Bryan ’06, Erin Reding ’06 and Tory Molnar ’07 led a young team to a 16-11 record (which is better than the ’04 squad’s 13-15 record) and a spot in the conference tournament. The team always played with heart and intensity and never gave away matches. By all measures, the team overachieved. By playing their hardest in every match, the Cardinals have shown that they have constructed a foundation of potential to build upon next year.
“We played some great matches,” Rodgers said. “And even though we’re really going to miss our captains (Bryan and Reding), I’m already excited for the 2006 fall season.”
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