Volleyball wins two out of three

The Cardinals were less-than-pleased this weekend as the volleyball team fell in a heated match against rival Amherst College in the opening night of the Wesleyan Invitational. The Cards went 2-1 in the tournament, rebounding the next day with victories over both Wheaton and Trinity. Although the loss will not officially contribute to their NESCAC record, the Amherst match was the focus of the weekend.

The Cards, who were just coming off a conference win against the Amherst Lord Jeffs on Sept. 16, came into the game with a high confidence level. The Cardinals fell in three straight games, however, as the Lord Jeffs avenged their previous loss to the Cards on Friday in front of a packed gym.

“It just didn’t come together,” said co-captain Tory Molnar ’07. “Friday was pretty heartbreaking.”

The Cards came back the next day newly rejuvenated, taking the matches against both Wheaton and Trinity in straight games.

“I’m really proud of how we came back and played on Saturday. We didn’t let Friday’s loss interfere with our games the next morning,” said Allison Heaney ’09. “We focused and really kept up the intensity all day.”

Neither Wheaton nor Trinity could keep up with the fiery Cards, as they rebounded from a hard loss the night before.

“We were communicating and moving really well right from the beginning,” Molnar said. “When we stay connected to each other on the court like we did on Saturday, we’re pretty unstoppable.”

The Cards, despite the upsetting non-conference loss to Amherst, did have a solid weekend, improving to 11-3 on the season. Setter Ellie Healy ’10 averaged 11.4 assists per game in the tournament, and Lisa Drennan ’09 hit with a .375 efficiency while averaging 6.0 kills per contest. Both Healy and Drennan were named to the All-Tournament Team. This was the second time Drennan has garnered an all-tournament honor this season, as she was named to the all-Elizabethtown Tournament team last weekend.

The Cards will return to official NESCAC play this week hosting Connecticut College on Wednesday, Oct. 4. The Cards will then face Trinity in a conference match up this Friday, Oct. 6 at Trinity’s home court.