The Wesleyan volleyball team traveled to the campus of Hamilton College on Friday, Sept. 30, with two conference tilts on the weekend slate. The first matchup was a neutral game against Little Three rival Williams College.
The third conference match of the Cardinal’s season opened with a contentious first set taken by the Ephs by a count of 25-23. After a convincing 25-13 second set from Williams, Wes responded with its back against the wall, taking the exciting third set 26-24. Wes rallied from an 11-3 hole in the third set and capped it off with a kill by Jess Shevins ’14. The fourth set proved to be the final one in the match, as Williams rolled 25-13 en route to a 3-1 victory. Captain Casey Reed ’12 led Wesleyan with 12 kills, while Kim Farris ’14 hammered home 11 of her own.
The following day marked the first of a new month, and Wes turned the page from September to October in a big way. Facing host Hamilton, the Cardinals edged out a five-set victory, bringing their conference record to 1-3, 4-10 overall. The Wes victory was fueled by stellar play from Jeanne McPhee ’13, who recorded a career-high 34 digs to add to her cumulative team-high. Offensively, the Cardinal charge was bolstered by Claire Larson ’15, who had 51 assists, and Reed’s team-high 17 kills. Wesleyan took the first two sets narrowly, by counts of 25-23 and 26-24, respectively. Facing defeat, Hamilton responded, taking a tight 25-23 set of its own. An identical 25-23 edge to the home team followed in the fourth set, setting the stage for the crucial fifth set. The set was tied early at 4-4, but Wesleyan stormed its way to a 10-7 advantage and avoided all drama from that point forward, snaring the final five points and a 15-7 set victory.
The squad will look to ride its positive momentum in two more road matches this week, at Coast Guard on Oct. 5, followed by a tilt at Trinity on Oct. 7. The win marked the 11th consecutive Wes triumph over Hamilton. In the all-time series, the Cardinals hold a 19-4 mark on the Continentals.
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