This weekend, women’s volleyball placed third in the Blue Jay Classic at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. The Lady Cards, in the midst of a powerful start to the 2006 season, were hoping to run the table in the tournament but fell short after a strong start.
The Cards had no problem winning their first two matches against both Mitchell and Wilkes on Friday, Sept. 22, taking each of the matches by a commanding 3-0 score. With the two wins on Friday, the Cards extended their game win streak to seven.
Their third match, played on Saturday against host Elizabethtown saw an end to their winning streak as the Cards fell in a hard fought four games. Although the Cards came back the next day to beat Neumann in straight games and take third place, the Cards were mostly disappointed with the result.
“We seemed kind of tired and sloppy, although I’m pleased we pulled three out of the four games off,” said Lisa Drennan ’09. “There wasn’t a single team in the tournament that was better than us, we should have gotten first place for sure.”
Drennan, who averaged 6.0 kills per game and held a .329 hitting percentage throughout the tournament, was chosen for one of six spots on the all-tournament team. She also added nine aces, 22 digs, and 11 blocks over the course of the tournament. Her performance was enough to earn her NESCAC Player of the Week honors.
Drennan has continued to raise her level of play, which has helped lead the Cardinals to a strong start this season.
Still, the weekend’s contests left the team with mixed feelings.
“[Elizabethtown] was a good tournament, but honestly we all know we could have played a lot better than we did,” said co-captain Tory Molnar ’07. “There are always positive things you can take away though. I’m pleased we are continuing to roll and we did pick up three more wins.”
This weekend, the Cards look to rebound as they are hosting the much-anticipated Wesleyan Invitational. The opening match of the invitational vs. Amherst will be on Friday, Sept. 29 at 8 p.m. in the Freeman Athletic Center, which should be an exciting match-up between two NESCAC foes.
Two weekends ago, the Cards earned a hard fought victory with a razor thin margin of two points in both of the last sets, and this weekend’s battle should be another exciting contest.
“If anyone caught Amherst’s brutal defeat in our gym last year, they know how exciting this tournament is going to be,” Molnar said.
The Cards will play Wheaton at 11 a.m. and Trinity at 2 p.m. on Saturday to round off what promises to be an action-packed weekend.
“We expect a lot of fans on Friday, it should be a great game,” Drennan said. “Volleyball really is one of the best spectator sports and when our fans come on Friday we’ll show them why.”
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