The Amherst volleyball team, fresh off a Thursday night squeaker of a win over regional rival Smith College, returned for one final homestand in LeFrak Gymnasium to host Saturday's Little III tournament. The Firedogs fell to Wesleyan University and Williams College, however, ending their regular season with a 23-6 record and a third-place seeding in this weekend's upcoming NESCAC tournament. The Amherst mark of 8-2 in NESCAC quad play mirrors that of Williams, but the Ephs grabbed the high ground over the Firedogs in head-to-head competition.

Prior to the Little III bout, the Firedogs took an away date at Smith on Thursday night. The Pioneers, who entered the contest as the decided underdog with a 13-13 record, surprised the Firedogs with a five-game struggle. The two teams traded games, with Amherst taking the first and third sets and Smith powering back to claim the second and fourth. The deciding fifth game went to Amherst, however, and the Firedogs improved to 23-4. For Amherst, setter Annie Hoeksma '05 led the squad with 25 assists, six blocks and five kills, and Co-captain Meredith DeMeules '02 tallied 22 assists and four kills. Erin Dittus '03 and Co-captain Erica Hewes '02 powered the Amherst offense, with 22 and 17 kills, respectively, on the night.

"We should have beaten them in three games," said Dittus. "We dragged it out ourselves. But to Smith's credit, they played really well."

After taking a day to recover, the squad hosted Williams and Wesleyan to what would be two Amherst losses. The first match, against the Cardinals, was preceded by a Senior Day presentation in honor of DeMeules and Hewes. Together, the two have combined for a 104-23 career record and have rewritten the Amherst record books, as well as receiving All-NESCAC honors several times.

The Amherst six took the court against NESCAC-leading Wesleyan but dropped three games after powering through the first frame for a win. Following that skirmish, the Firedogs fell again to Williams in three games, in a match marked by officiating that often drew exclamations from the crowd. "I thought we played well for the majority of each game this weekend," said Dittus. "We were either winning or hanging really well with the other team. I think the problem is, we had a lot of trouble finishing our games. We would get stuck at around 25 points, and we had problems regaining our momentum at that point." Hewes and Dittus led the way on offense, with a combined 50 kills, while the two setters added 69 assists to the weekend's effort. A group of players patrolled the backcourt, combining for 158 digs.

The squad will pack for Middlebury College this weekend, for the NCAA bid-deciding NESCAC tournament. "Even though we lost to both teams this past weekend, we are going to try to switch some things around in order to find a way to beat them," said DeMeules. "I think we will beat them this weekend when it counts."