Sports Short: Volleyball comes back against Keene State to win

The volleyball team turned what appeared to be a sure defeat into a victory on Wednesday, beating the Keene State Owls in the final three games in the match in the Silloway Gym.

The Owls (9-4) started slow this Wednesday as the Cardinals (4-2) jumped out to an early lead; however, the owls used a 5-0 run to take control of the first game. Despite several bad passes and much positive energy and enthusiasm from the Cardinals, Keene State prevailed, but only by two points.

In the second game, Keene State eliminated its earlier mistakes, and it looked like the match would be over quickly as the Owls won the second game by seven points.

The third game proved the decisive turning point of the match. Wesleyan outside hitter Lisa Drennan ’09 slammed a kill directly at Keene State’s Tiffany Brooks, who couldn’t avoid the ball, turned her head, and took a harmless, but humiliating, volleyball to the back of the head. The play lit a fire under the Cardinals, who took a 7-3 lead after the play and never looked back, winning the third game 25-14.

A bit of sloppy play plagued the Cards during the beginning of game four, with easy digs and passes going awry and a couple of kills missing badly. But Wesleyan soon overcame these mistakes and regained the focus it had in game three. Although Keene State tried its best to thwart the Cardinals, Wesleyan recovered the momentum it had gained in the third game and rode it through the final two. Drennan continued asserting her dominance, as she rained down a series of kills and aces on the Owls in the decisive games four and five.

Wesleyan continued its impressive play in the final game, opening a 5-0 lead, with help from Casey Reed ’12, who earned three of those five points off aces. The Owls couldn’t overcome the barrage of kills, blocks and aces by Drennan and Reed, and eventually the Cardinals completed the stunning comeback victory with a 15-10 win in the final game.

The Cardinals will look to continue this hot streak in their next game at Hamilton College on Friday, and then during two more games on Saturday.