"Being on our home court for three weekends in a row will be a huge advantage for us," said defensive specialist Missy Mordy '03. "We're in our gym, with our fans and in our element, and we don't have to travel. That's a great position for us to be in."
The Firedogs kicked off their homecoming celebration in style on Friday night, taking down previously undefeated Tufts University in straight games, 30-24, 30-12, 30-12. Offensively, although the 'Dogs registered a respectable team-total .301 kill percentage, the Jumbos managed only 29 kills on 28 attack errors off of a total 128 attempts, leaving their kill percentage at a very stoic .008.
According to Mordy, the key to the discrepancy lay in the Amherst blocking game. She pointed to the jaw-dropping 17 total team blocks amassed by the Firedogs, as compared to the Jumbos three. Eight of the 17 blocks came from Natalie Brooks '04 and Lauren Wong '03, who combined for 10 block assists and three solo blocks on the match. Co-captain Meredith DeMeules '02 noted Brooks's increased role in the Amherst drive this season: "[Brooks] played well this weekend," she said. "She's really been playing great this year. We came out on fire against Tufts. We played well, and we totally shut them down."
Against the Jumbo effort, hitter Erin Dittus '03 and Co-captain Erica Hewes '02 led the way offensively, with eight and 10 kills on the match, respectively. DeMeules and first-year pillar Annie Hoeksma '05 set the tone for the attack, with 13 and 10 assists. Defensively, the Firedogs were paced by sophomore Jessica Allen's 15 digs, with Dittus and DeMeules each adding 12 to the team-total 53.
After breezing through Hamilton College's Friday night challenge by a 30-17, 30-19, 30-22 score, the Amherst squad seemed ready for the morning fight against Williams College and the following match against Middlebury College the next day.
"We were very, very off when we played Williams," DeMeules said. "And, they were very, very on. We always have a hard match against Williams, because they are such a huge rival. But," she continued, "I think we could have stopped them." The Firedogs couldn't keep up their streak against the Ephs, and fell in the morning match, 18-30, 23-30, 24-30, behind a meager Amherst performance in which the only stats in double digits were Mordy's 12 digs and DeMeules's 11 assists. Williams lost to Tufts in their only other match of the day.
But DeMeules took as positive a slant as possible when speaking about the defeat. "When we lost to Williams, that took us off the cloud we were on," she said. "We woke up, and we stepped it up going into Middlebury."
The Firedogs found their footing again in their last match of the weekend, taking down Middlebury by a decisive 30-22, 30-18, 30-25 margin. Mordy saw the win as meaning more than just another mark in the win column. "We needed to gear ourselves up again after Williams," she said. "And, we lost to Middlebury last year, so it was nice to get revenge."
The Firedogs are looking ahead to tonight's contest against Keene State College, with a scheduled 7:00 start time, and to this weekend's Amherst Classic, as well as next weekend's Amherst Invitational. DeMeules is confident of Amherst's ability against perennial opponent Keene State. "I'm not too worried. Now that we have more games under our belts, we're more situated, and I think we'll do well," she said.
The larger issue presented by this weekend's action is that the NESCAC crown, currently held by Amherst, is up for grabs. "There wasn't a team that left the Quad a clear winner," said Mordy. "Us, Tufts and Williams-we were all up there. It's going to be a tough conference to win this year, and it will be interesting to see who pulls through in the end."