If the volleyball team has finally reached its competitive peak, it picked the right time to do it-heading into its third consecutive NCAA Tournament, to which the Firedogs received an automatic bid after steamrolling their way through the NESCAC Tournament this weekend at Bowdoin College.
Despite the confidence of a 24-4 record heading into the tournament, the Firedogs were still unsure of their chances. "The level of play in the league has really risen, to the point where on any weekend a number of teams could have a real chance at winning the whole tournament," said Hewes.
This past weekend, however, chance went the Firedogs' way as they notched consecutive wins over Tufts University, Trinity College and Bates College en route to their second consecutive NESCAC conference championship.
On Friday night, the third-seeded Firedogs started against the sixth-seeded Jumbos in the quarterfinal match. Amherst disposed of Tufts in a four-game match, 15-13, 15-12, 9-15, 15-9. Meanwhile, in an emotionally charged match, seventh-seeded Trinity racked up an upset 3-1 win over second-seeded Williams College to set up an Amherst-Trinity pairing in the semifinal match.
"Trinity played well against Williams. Williams has had an up and down season, and they didn't play as well as their personnel this weekend," said Amherst Head Coach Sue Everden.
Against the Bantams, the Firedogs started off on a slow note, dropping the first game, 13-15. However, the Amherst squad did not seem ready to witness a second Trinity upset, and fought their way to victory in the ensuing three games, 15-7, 15-7, 15-2. For Amherst, Meredith DeMeules '02 dominated play, racking up a career-high 55 assists against Trinity. DeMeules also notched eight kills, supplementing Hewes' incredible 22 kills. Also contributing to the Amherst attack were Erin Dittus '03 and Emily Ratcliff '03, who combined to smash 34 kills for the Firedogs.
In other semifinal action, fourth-ranked Bates snuck up on top-ranked Middlebury College for a 3-2 victory, causing another upset and setting up a repeat performance of last year's NESCAC final-Amherst against Bates.
"It was exciting to play Bates in the final, since we played them in the finals last year as well," said DeMeules. "We had beaten them twice already this season too. They probably had revenge in mind, but we played so well that, even though they didn't give the game to us, we didn't give them any chances to win."
The Amherst squad came out swinging in the first game, 15-4, and took the second game, 15-7. But, the Bobcats fought back to take the third game, 13-15. The Firedogs retaliated to take the fourth game-along with the tournament and the NESCAC title-15-5.
For Amherst, DeMeules had 50 assists to go along with six kills. Hewes, Dittus and Ratcliff posted 19, 12 and 14 kills, respectively. For their efforts, DeMeules received First Team All-NESCAC Honors, and Hewes received Second Team All-NESCAC accolades.
"[The Firedogs] are playing good volleyball," said Everden. "Their mental attitudes are tough, and we had a fantastic finish at the tournament."
On Friday, the Firedogs will travel to Wellesley College to take on the winner of the Bates-Bridgewater State College match. Bates received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, which Everden called, "a testament to the strength of the NESCAC."
But she was cautious about the prospect of playing Bates again on Friday night. "We've already beaten them three times this year, so we have the psychological advantage," she said. "But, each time you play a team it becomes harder to beat them. So, if we let them think they're in the match, we're in trouble."
If the Firedogs win on Friday night, they could possibly play Wellesley, currently ranked number one in the region. Wellesley handed the Firedogs one of their four season losses at the Hall of Fame Tournament earlier this season. Everden seemed confident and noted that the game scores from the previous Wellesley match were very close.
"It will be interesting to see if we can beat Wellesley," said Everden. "It will be a major upset if we do."
"But," she continued, "this year the Firedogs have been living out a fairytale season. This is one of the best teams in our program's history."