"Smith was tougher than we gave them credit for," said Head Coach Sue Everden. "We played well ... It was a good match to iron out our defense before this weekend."
Junior Meredith DeMeules agreed with her coach. "Our team pulled together, had fun and played good Amherst volleyball," she said. "I think it helped us gain some confidence back since we sometimes get frustrated if we aren't playing perfectly."
The Firedogs took the match in three games, 15-2, 15-7, 15-9, in less than one hour. During that time span, her last game at home for the Firedogs, Co-Captain Liza Abeles '01 made her mark with eight kills against the Pioneers. Also contributing to the Amherst attack were Emily Ratcliff '03, with 13 kills and three service aces, Erica Hewes '02, who launched 11 kills, and DeMeules, who upped 25 assists. For the solid Firedog defense, DeMeules led the way with 11 digs, while Ratcliff followed with six digs.
On Saturday, the Firedogs set up camp at Wesleyan University, claiming the Little Three Championship after beating the host Cardinals and the Williams College Ephs. In the opener, the Firedogs won the first game 15-10, but dropped the second game of the four game match to the Cardinals, 14-16. "That was the third time we'd played Wesleyan this season," said Everden. "By that point, you know the other team well, and it comes down to execution. We're good defensively, and we wear people down because of that." The squad pulled through to take the third and fourth games, 15-12 and 15-6, to win the match.
For the Firedogs, Erin Dittus '03 posted a
reverberating 20 kills on the match, with Hewes following close behind with 17 kills against the Cardinals. DeMeules contributed seven kills to go along with her 40 assists, and Ratcliff led the Amherst defense with 11 digs. Saturday night brought a sweet victory for Amherst, as the Firedogs inched to a five-game win over the Ephs after falling to them in a similar situation at Middlebury College's NESCAC Quad two weekends ago. The Firedogs looked strong for the first two games, which they won easily 15-5, 15-6.
However, the Williams squad pounded back, taking the third and fourth games, both 12-15. "We were playing well, but got caught a little off guard in the third game," admitted DeMeules. "At that point, I think we got a little frustrated with each other and had a hard time finishing a game, even if we were ahead."
"But," she continued, "In the fifth game, we pulled together and played as a team to beat them." The Firedogs regrouped to take the fifth game and the match from the Ephs, 15-13. For the Amherst squad, Hewes and Abeles led the offense, crushing 23 and six kills respectively, appropriated by DeMeules' 50 assists. Co-captain Carrie Snyder '01 patrolled the backcourt, and added 13 digs to the Firedog win.
Everden seemed happy with her team's performance over the weekend. "We're going 11 players deep each match, which is good," she commented. "Irene [Lee, '03], [Snyder], [Dittus] and Missy [Mordy, '03] are all doing well in the backcourt. Our first-years have also been contributing, and I think rotating them is working well."
Having secured a first round bye at the NESCAC Tournament, the third-seeded Firedogs will take on the winner of the Tufts University-Bowdoin College matchup, which will be played Friday at Bowdoin. If the seeds hold, Amherst will have a rematch with Williams in the tournament semifinal.