The volleyball team preserved its nearly perfect record this week, taking four matches and improving to a 13-1 record. Last Tuesday, the Firedogs rebounded from early mistakes to defeat Trinity College, and went on to beat Mount Holyoke College on Thursday. On Saturday, the squad moved past Westfield State College and the United States Coast Guard Academy to sweep the Amherst Invitational tournament.

Despite a first game that witnessed the Firedogs having trouble receiving the Bantam serve, the squad hung on, and won the match 17-15, 11-15, 15-4, 15-8. "I think after missing a couple of passes, the confidence of our passers went down a little." said Meredith DeMeules '02. "But after a while we realized that we are a good passing team and then started coming back and playing real volleyball."

Despite the early difficulties, the Firedogs claimed victory over the Bantams, with Erica Hewes '02 stepping up for 19 kills. Emily Ratcliff '03 added 14 kills in one of her first games since her return from injury last week, and DeMeules totaled 45 assists on the night.

On Thursday, the Firedogs continued their homestand against the Lyons. In a brief match, Amherst defeated their cross-valley rivals, 15-4, 15-4, 15-6. Ratcliff led the way with 12 kills, spurred on by DeMeules' 35 assists. Missy Mordy '03, a huge contributor to what Head Coach Sue Everden called "a total team effort" as of late, made her presence known with nine digs. "They all work hard in practice, and it shows on the court," said Everden.

On Saturday morning, the Firedogs brought the Westfield State squad down 15-10, 15-5, 15-4, despite another shaky start. "I don't know why we had such problems in the beginning-maybe because we didn't expect Westfield State to have improved that much since last year," said DeMeules. "We were surprised and weren't mentally prepared." Against the Owls, four Firedogs marked five or more kills, led by Hewes' seven.

In their final match of the week, the Firedogs capped off their homestand with a three-game sweep of the Coast Guard 15-3, 15-4, 15-5. Hewes and Ratcliff combined for 22 kills. DeMeules had 25 assists, and Erin Dittus '03 added five aces.

The Firedogs will return to the court on Friday night, when they travel to Trinity for one of the NESCAC quads vital to the team's ranking. "Playing Trinity will be interesting," said Everden. "It will be tough to beat them twice, but it's important that we stay on top of the NESCAC."

On Saturday, the team will face Connecticut College in the morning. The afternoon will give the women a chance to avenge the one blight on their record as they face Wesleyan University, the only team that has beaten them thus far.